Neal Kennedy

How To Know If You Have An Enlarged Liver

Liver enlargement is a telltale sign that a major liver problem may be developing. Identifying symptoms of liver enlargement is the first step back toward liver health. This article has the details.

Enlarged liver symptoms normally indicate that there is inflammation and swelling in the liver because of one of various potential developing liver disorders. Anybody who has symptoms of an enlarged liver should seek medical treatment as soon as possible. Often, by the time signs and symptoms of an enlarged liver can be diagnosed, significant liver damage has possibly already taken place. If the degeneration of liver capacity is not slowed, it may eventually lead to liver failure. Once liver failure has happened, there's just one way to survive: a liver transplant.

Medical professionals call an enlarged liver is hepatomegaly.

Hepatomegaly is not considered to be a disease. It is, however, an indication that a liver disorder is developing.

There are no early symptoms of an enlarged liver. But if the underlying condition is not identified and treated, the liver will in due course grow so big that the following symptoms and signs will start to develop.

tenderness in the upper abdomen

a feeling of bloating in the stomach or abdominal areas

fluid accumulation in the abdomen (known as ascites)

reduced appetite

sore joints and muscles

a cough that doesn't come from a respiratory infection

irregular bowel habits that include bouts of diarrhea or constipation

always feeling worn-out

fevers, nausea and vomiting

Urine is at times murky or dark

Individuals with signs of enlarged liver often have increased sensitivity to light are referred to as photophobia. The patient's ability to smell can also be heightened, and a number of familiar odors could become disagreeable or even offensive.

One of the few distinct signs of a liver ailment is jaundice, which makes the skin and whites of the eyes become yellow. Jaundice occurs when there's an excessive amount of a bile pigment called bilirubin in the body.. Abnormal amounts of bilirubin destroy liver tissue, which then causes signs of liver enlargement.

There are numerous other ailments which indicate that some kind of liver disease or damage has started. One is cholestasis, which happens when something has clogged the flow of bile from the liver. Another example is portal hypertension, which is a sign of high blood pressure in the portal vein. This vein carries blood from the intestines to the liver.

The physician will almost certainly order diagnostic tests to determine how far liver enlargement has progressed. These tests usually include a liver biopsy, liver function tests, an ultrasound or a CT scan.

Now and again both the liver and spleen get enlarged together. If this happens, the disorder is called hepatosplenomegaly.

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