Cirrhosis is one of the more common chronic liver diseases in China, but it is not an independent liver disease!
The so-called cirrhosis of the liver refers to the fact that the patient has a kind of or even a variety of primary chronic liver disease before, but the control of the disease has not been in place, resulting in long-term, repeated damage and repair of liver cells, and finally the liver cells appear widespread necrosis, the remaining liver cells grow nodularly again, the liver is therefore deformed and hardened, and it is clinically called "cirrhosis"!
Cirrhosis of the liver seems to be just the liver hardened, but it is a huge threat to the health of the patient, the patient's liver function will not only be seriously damaged with the development of the disease, gastrointestinal symptoms, coagulation disorders, weakened metabolic capacity, endocrine disorders and other abnormal symptoms. At the same time, cirrhosis can also be combined with multiple complications, such as hepatic encephalopathy, ascites, liver failure and so on.
Cirrhosis itself may cause patient death, and it also has a certain possibility of cancer. Among all liver cancer patients in China, nearly 70% are based on cirrhosis.
Therefore, the harm caused by cirrhosis of the liver cannot be underestimated, and if you want to prevent cirrhosis, you must first understand the cause of cirrhosis. According to the data available in clinical practice, the causes of cirrhosis are diverse, and the following categories are the most common:
1. Alcohol damage
Alcoholic liver disease is most common in Western countries, with nearly 80 to 90% of cirrhosis occurring, which is caused by alcohol consumption. Some of the patients with cirrhosis in China also develop from alcoholic liver disease.
Whether it is alcohol itself or the metabolite of alcohol, acetaldehyde, it can cause damage to liver cells. Long-term heavy alcoholism, can gradually develop alcoholic fatty liver, hepatitis, liver fibrosis, and eventually cirrhosis outbreak;
2. Viral hepatitis
The so-called viral hepatitis is actually a hepatitis reaction caused by various viral infections. There are four main types of viral hepatitis, namely A, B, C, and D. In China, the most prevalent viral hepatitis is hepatitis B and C.
Affected by the long-term action of the virus, decreased immune function, and liver cell damage, viral hepatitis will eventually develop into cirrhosis. Clinical data show that most of the patients with portal vein cirrhosis in China develop from hepatitis B and C;
3. Nutritional disorders
Mention should be made here of a disease called fatty liver, which is related to long-term unhealthy eating habits (overeating, eating a lot of greasy food, excessive dieting, malnutrition), alcoholism, obesity and other factors.
Severe fatty liver also has a certain possibility of developing cirrhosis, even if there is no severe fatty liver, many scholars also believe that long-term malnutrition, will reduce autoimmune function, liver cells to toxic substances and pathogens resistance is getting worse and worse, and eventually called the indirect cause of cirrhosis;
4. Other factors
Long-term repeated exposure to industrial poisons or drugs (arsenic-containing insecticides, diacetamoltin, tetracycline), circulatory disorders (chronic congestive heart failure, chronic constrictive pericarditis), the presence of hepatic schistosomiasis, or the presence of metabolic disorders, such as hemochromatosis, Wilson's nuclear degeneration, etc., may develop cirrhosis in the future.
Written in the end: There are many causes of cirrhosis, but most of the cirrhosis in China develops from chronic liver disease. Therefore, if you want to prevent cirrhosis, the first thing to do is to quit drinking and adjust your diet. For people who have already developed primary chronic liver disease, they should actively cooperate with doctors for treatment to avoid further damage to liver function.