What is Liver Pain?
Liver is the largest gland of the body that is responsible for performing some of the most important functions without which it is impossible for the human body to function. The liver is located at a very strategic position in the pelvic region, i.e. the abdominal region which lies below the diaphragm and the ribs separating the chest from the abdomen. Since it has multiple tasks to perform, it may be prone to complications, thereby harming the normal functioning of the organ.
One of the most common symptoms of its poor functioning or failure is pain in the liver. It may be caused by very many underlying factors like liver inflammation, accumulation of excess fat, consumption of alcohol and other strong addictive substances. Such cases may be responsible for fatty liver pain, liver cyst pain, enlarged liver pain, cirrhosis liver pain. Other conditions or diseases such as hepatitis, Wilson’s disease, Gilbert’s syndrome , cirrhosis, liver cancer are also responsible for causing liver pain in specific areas of the body. All these factors determine the liver pain location. They cause liver back pain, liver hemangioma pain, abdominal liver pain, burning liver pain, liver cancer pain, etc. In order to get relief from pain in liver area, one may undergo liver pain treatment according to one’s need and body enduring capability.
Picture 1 – Liver
Source – liverdetoxification.org
Liver Pain Location
Those who want to know where is liver pain located, must be enlightened with the fact that it is usually felt in the upper or lower right quadrant, i.e., in the epigastric region of the liver or the right hypochondrium. Since the human liver is located underneath the rib cage, the pain is also felt in that area. But with the consumption of spicy and rich food, one may also suffer from gastroenteritis which may exacerbate the pain and be responsible for severe liver pain, liver and back pain, right shoulder liver pain, and other instances of liver pain after eating.
Symptoms of Liver Pain
The symptoms of liver pain are actually the internal as well as external manifestations of the problem associated with the liver and its functions. One may list the symptoms of liver pain as the following:-
- A feeling of heaviness after eating
- Abdominal distension causing abdominal liver pain and cramps
- Pain in the liver or hypochondrium
- Nausea and vomiting
- Neurotic disorders
- Flatulence and lung chilling
- Itching along with the development of skin rashes
- Formation of dark circles under the eyes and spots and blemishes over the skin
- Yellowish discoloration of the eyes
- Breathing problem
- Swelling of the testes
- Diarrhea or constipation
- Swelling of the abdomen
- Extreme perspiration
- Release of foul odor from the body and bad breath
- And , loss of appetite and weight
One who suffers from liver pain will initially suffer from all such problems which may continue till one gets cured. To understand what exactly triggers such problems, one must know the causes of liver pain symptoms.
Liver Pain Causes
Causes of liver pain are not just a few but in fact quite a few owing to the importance of the organ. They give rise to liver pain of differing nature which may be categorized as acute or chronic liver pain, and sharp or dull liver pain. The causes can be listed as the following:-
- The most common cause of liver pain is a condition known as fatty liver, which is characterized by the excess accumulation of lipid molecules in the liver which causes it to swell. This condition is medically termed as steatosis which is responsible for causing steatohepatitis. Such an instance is also known as fatty liver pain or fatty liver disease (FLD). Many symptoms of liver pain are quite similar to fatty liver symptoms.
- Liver disorder of a chronic nature may be responsible for cirrhosis liver pain.
- Obesity, diabetes and hepatitis may be other causes for both mild and severe liver pain.
- Overconsumption of alcohol and other addictive substances and drugs such as acetaminophen, tamoxifen, and methotrexate may be responsible for liver pain after drinking alcohol.
- Other metabolic disorders and autoimmune diseases such as Weber Christian Disease, Glycogen Storage Disease, Wolfman disease, and HIV AIDS cause liver pain.
- Problems such as Pancreatitis and Gallstones may also cause pain in the liver area. Moreover, liver pain after gallbladder stone removal is quite common.
Besides these, one may also list the other causes for liver pain as the follows:-
- Pregnancy
- Tuberculosis
- Hypertension
- Lymphoma
- Spleen enlargement
- Cholangitis
- Biliary obstruction
- Schistomiasis
- Hodgkin’s disease
- Pylephlebitis
- Mononucleosis
- Hydatid cyst causing liver cyst pain
- Beam-Kunkel syndrome
- Congestive cardiac failure
- CMV and EBV
- Dubin – Johnson syndrome
- Leukaemia
- Weil syndrome
- VLCAD deficiency
- Hemangioma, causing liver hemangioma pain
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Hepatic vein thrombosis and hepatic abscess
- Metastatic and hepatocellular carcinoma
- Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome
- Lack of insufficient amount of Vitamin A and B1 in the body
- Diarrhea and constipation
- Liver cancer can be responsible for liver cancer pain and symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue.
In many cases liver pain goes hand in hand with abdominal pain and back pain. In other words, pain in the back or in the abdomen may give rise to abdominal liver pain and liver and back pain.
Diagnosis of Liver Pain
The symptoms of liver pain are the most important source which helps in the true and effective diagnosis of liver pain. With the aid of advanced technological methods of diagnosis, one is able to detect the exact underlying cause of the disease. But one may even suffer from liver biopsy pain while being diagnosed of the same.
Liver Pain Treatment
Liver pain can best be treated by avoiding the possible causal agents and taking preventive measures such as quitting alcoholism and the intake of drugs which are the primarily cause liver pain.
Liver pain medications which are mostly prescribed by doctors are 3TC, Interferon alpha II, Flagyl, Adefovir, Entecavir and other antiviral agents. Along with these medicines, electrolyte repletion and sufficient hydration are also necessary for treating liver pain. Surgery is usually conducted to remove gallstones which cause or perpetuate liver pain.
Besides these medicines and surgeries, one must also follow some measures in order to keep oneself fit and healthy. Drinking enough water, diet consisting of fresh fruit juices and vegetables and taking in whole food supplements help in keeping the liver away from problems. Moreover, herbal detoxification is another way of treating liver pain using natural herbs which help in removing the toxins from the liver and the body in a way which does have any side effects. All such recommendations have been suggested by doctors which if followed sincerely would not only help the body to get liver pain relief but also be relieved of very many health problems.
Reference :
Wikipedia
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