Do you have a liver problem? Are you diagnosed with cholestatic liver disease? If yes, then it’s high time to be concerned about your health. Because liver plays a crucial role in keeping your body healthy and functioning properly. It helps with digesting food, making proteins, filtering out harmful stuff from blood, storing energy when you need it. So, it’s important to take care of your liver for healthy you. Let’s know in detail what is cholestatic liver disease , symptoms and the causes of this disease.
What is Cholestatic Liver Disease?
Well, in humans’ bile (a fluid that digests food) usually flows from the liver to the small intestine. When there isn’t enough bile flowing between these two, we can say that there may be an occurrence of cholestasis.
Basically, there are two types of cholestasis: intrahepatic cholestasis and extrahepatic cholestasis
Intrahepatic cholestasis: It originates within the liver where for some reason hepatocytes aren’t making enough bile.
Extrahepatic cholestasis: Something’s physically blocking the flow of bile.
Causes of Cholestatic Liver Disease
Well, it can be caused by several factors include:
- Genetic disorders
- Hepatitis (A, B, C, D, E)
- Infections
- Gallstones or bile duct cancer
- Alcoholic liver disease
- Total parenteral nutrition (TPN)
- Medications
- Cholestasis of pregnancy
- Primary biliary cholangitis
- Primary sclerosing cholangitis
Cholestatic Liver Disease: Symptoms
Here an individual may experience few symptoms including
- Jaundice (yellowish of the skin and eyes)
- Itchiness
- Dark urine
- Fatigue
- Nausea and vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Abdominal pain
How is Cholestatic Liver Disease Diagnosed?
Well, it is diagnosed through:
- Medical history
- Liver function tests (LFTs): For measuring bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, GGT, AST and ALT levels.
- Imaging tests: Such as abdominal ultrasound or abdominal CT scan to evaluate liver and bile duct.
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging): to evaluate your biliary system more.
- Endoscopic Retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP): To find and fix problems in your bile ducts through the endoscope.
- Liver biopsy: examines liver tissue for damage and scarring
- Blood Tests: for viral hepatitis and autoimmune disorders
How to Prevent Cholestasis?
Basically, to prevent cholestasis you must take care of some measures including:
- Obesity is one of the reasons for cholestasis so maintain a healthy weight.
- Eat a balanced diet such as whole foods, fruits, green vegetables and whole grains. Avoid fatty foods.
- Avoid smoking
- Limit the intake of alcohol
- Get vaccinated against hepatitis A and B to prevent viral hepatitis.
- Manage chronic conditions like diabetes, blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
- Avoid certain medications such as antibiotics, estradiol, birth control pills etc.
Conclusion
We hope now you will be clear about cholestatic liver disease, its causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and how to prevent it. It’s important to seek medical attention after experiencing symptoms related to cholestatic liver disease. Moreover, for any medical treatment related to liver condition you can contact Treatians for the best medical services and quality treatment without emptying your wallet.
