When does alcohol start damaging your liver? If you see these symptoms, be alert immediately

We have always been hearing that alcohol is bad for us. Let us tell you when alcohol starts damaging our liver and what are its symptoms.

Liver is a very important part of our body. It cleans the blood, stores energy and breaks down harmful substances, but drinking too much alcohol starts damaging the liver.

When you drink alcohol, the liver breaks it down and expels it. During this, some toxic substances are formed, which damage the liver. If you drink too much alcohol every day, this damage increases.

Drinking too much alcohol causes a disease called Alcohol-Related Liver Disease (ARLD). It progresses in three stages: fatty liver (accumulation of fat in the liver), alcoholic hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) and cirrhosis (hardening of the liver).

The first stage is fatty liver. In this, fat gets accumulated in the liver. This can happen even after a few weeks of heavy drinking. The good thing is that if you quit drinking in time, the liver can recover.

The second stage is alcoholic hepatitis. In this, the liver gets swollen. Its symptoms are fatigue, vomiting, loss of appetite and yellow skin (jaundice). If not treated on time, it can be fatal.

The third stage is cirrhosis. In this stage, the liver gets severely damaged and hard tissues form in its place. The liver does not heal in this stage. Sometimes liver transplant is the last resort.

If you notice these symptoms, consult a doctor immediately. Do not ignore symptoms like yellowing of the eyes and skin, swelling or pain in the stomach, loss of appetite, weight loss, redness of the palms, excessive fatigue etc.

The easiest way to save the liver is to reduce or quit drinking alcohol. If you already have liver problems, do not drink alcohol at all. Keep getting health checkups done from time to time, so that the disease can be detected early.

PC:ABPNews