Liver cirrhosis ‘red flag’ symptoms and early signs people should watch out for

Every year, people take part in Dry January, choosing to stay away from alcohol from the entire month.

Long-term abuse of alcohol can come serious consequences such as liver cirrhosis. And people may not be aware of what it is as well as its sign and symptoms.

Cirrhosis is sometimes known as end-stage liver disease, which means that it comes after the other stages of damage. The damage can include inflammation (hepatitis), fatty deposits (steatosis) and increased stiffness and mild-scarring of your liver (fibrosis).

The most common causes of this are:

• Drinking too much alcohol over an extended period of time (years)
• Being infected with hepatitis for a long time, particularly hepatitis B or C
• Severe form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, where the liver becomes inflamed from a build-up of excess fat.

The NHS noted that cirrhosis can also be caused by a bile duct issue, such as primary biliary cholangitis, or a problem with your immune system, some hereditary conditions, and prolonged use of certain medicines, reports Gloucestershire Live.

The condition is classified as compensated or decompensated, which are:

• Compensated cirrhosis is where the liver is coping with the damage and maintaining its important functions.
• With decompensated cirrhosis, the liver is not able to perform all its functions adequately. People with decompensated liver disease or cirrhosis often have serious symptoms and complications such as portal hypertension, bleeding varices, ascites and hepatic encephalopathy.

According to the charity British Liver Trust, around 4,000 people in the UK die from cirrhosis and 700 people have to have a liver transplant each year to survive. There are a number of symptoms attributed to liver cirrhosis, but these can come in different stages.

Early symptoms to look out for

• Generally feeling unwell and tired all the time
• Loss of appetite
• Loss of weight and muscle wasting
• Feeling sick (nausea) and vomiting
• Tenderness/pain in the liver area
• Spider-like small blood capillaries on the skin above waist level (spider angiomas)
• Blotchy red palms
• Disturbed sleep pattern

Later symptoms

• Intensely itchy skin
• Yellowing of the whites of the eyes and the skin (jaundice)
• White nails
• Ends of fingers become wider/thicker (clubbed fingers)
• Hair loss
• Swelling of the legs, ankles, feet (oedema)
• Swelling of the abdomen (ascites)
• Dark urine
• Pale-coloured stools or very dark/black tarry stools
• Frequent nosebleeds and bleeding gums
• Easy bruising and difficulty in stopping small bleeds
• Vomiting blood
• Frequent muscle cramps
• Right shoulder pain
• In men: enlarged breasts and shrunken testes
• In women: irregular or lack of menstrual periods
• Impotence and loss of sexual desire
• Dizziness and extreme fatigue (anaemia)
• Shortness of breath
• Very rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
• Fevers with high temperature and shivers
• Forgetfulness, memory loss, confusion and drowsiness
• Subtle change in personality
• Trembling hands
• Writing becomes difficult, spidery and small
• Staggering gait when walking; tendency to fall
• Increased sensitivity to drugs, both medical and recreational
• Increased sensitivity to alcohol

However, there are a number of ‘red flag’ symptoms to keep an eye out for. The British Liver Trust say you must see a doctor or your GP as soon as they present, especially if you’ve already been diagnosed with cirrhosis.