Is liver disease all "dragging"? Remind! With "two reds and three pains", early screening for liver disease
The liver, as one of the important organs of the human body, undertakes important functions such as detoxification, metabolism, and storage. However, due to the strong compensatory ability of the liver, many people have no obvious symptoms in the early stage of liver disease, which also leads to many patients with liver disease being discovered when their condition worsens, thus missing the best opportunity. Therefore, some people say that liver disease is "dragged". So, how do you detect the signs of liver disease early? This article will start with the symptom of "two reds and three pains", analyze the early signs of liver disease in detail, and remind readers to carry out liver disease screening in time.
1. Why is liver disease easy to be "delayed"?
The liver is a "silent" organ, and because it does not have nociceptive nerves, it tends not to immediately show significant pain when it is damaged. In addition, the liver has a strong regenerative and compensatory capacity to maintain normal physiological functions even in the case of partial damage. Therefore, liver disease is difficult to detect in the early stages. When many patients develop severe symptoms, liver disease has progressed to the middle and advanced stages, and the difficulty and prognosis will be greatly reduced.
2. "Two reds and three pains" is an early sign of liver disease
Although the early symptoms of liver disease are not obvious, as long as we observe carefully, we can still find some clues. Among them, "two reds and three pains" is an important signal in the early stage of liver disease.
"Two reds".
Redness of the palms: The palms of the hands of patients with liver disease usually appear patchy and congested, or red spots and plaques, which are called "palmar liver". This is due to the impaired function of the liver, the inactivation of estrogen is weakened, resulting in a large accumulation of estrogen in the body, stimulating capillary congestion and dilation.
Spider angiomas: Spider angiomata is an idiopathic telangiectasia that is formed by the distal dilation of the branch of the **arteriole. The nevus has a central point surrounded by radial branches of small blood vessels, which resemble spiders, so it is called spider nevi. It tends to occur in areas where the superior vena cava is distributed, such as the face, neck, upper chest, shoulders, and upper extremities. It can be seen in patients with liver diseases such as cirrhosis and acute hepatitis, as well as in healthy people, such as children, pregnant women, etc. The appearance of spider angiomata parallels the state of liver function, and when liver function deteriorates, spider nevi can increase dramatically. After the liver function improves, the mole may change from bright red to brownish-black and then disappear.
"Three pains".
Pain in the liver area: The liver is located in the right upper abdomen of the human body, and when the liver is inflamed or enlarged, it will pull into the liver capsule, causing pain in the liver area. This pain usually appears as a dull, dull, or stabbing ache that may worsen with a change of position or deep breathing.
Shoulder pain: Liver tumors may invade the diaphragm and compress the muscles under the lungs, which in turn connect to the nerves in the right shoulder. Therefore, when the liver tumor grows, it may cause radiating pain in the right shoulder. This pain usually appears as a dull ache that is constant and difficult to relieve.
Joint pain: The liver is an important metabolic organ of the human body, and when the liver function is impaired, it will affect the metabolic processes in the body, resulting in the accumulation of metabolites such as uric acid and lactic acid in the body. These metabolites may irritate the synovial membrane of the joint, causing joint pain. In addition, liver disease can also lead to immune system disorders, leading to immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
3. Timely screening for liver disease
In view of the insidious nature of the early symptoms of liver disease, we recommend that readers undergo regular liver disease screening in order to detect and improve liver disease in time. Liver disease screening mainly includes liver function tests, liver ultrasound, hepatitis B and two halves. Through these tests, it is possible to understand the functional status of the liver, its morphological structure, and the presence or absence of viral infections.
Liver function testsLiver function test is to detect various indicators related to liver function and metabolism through various biochemical test methods to reflect the basic status of liver function. Including alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, albumin, globulin and other indicators.
Liver ultrasound: Liver ultrasound is a non-invasive examination method that can clearly show the shape, size, internal structure and vascular distribution of the liver. Through liver ultrasound, solid lesions of the liver, such as fatty liver, liver cirrhosis, liver cysts, liver hemangiomas, etc., can be found.
Hepatitis B is two halves: Hepatitis B is the most commonly used serum marker for hepatitis B virus infection detection in hospitals in China. There are 3 pairs of immunological markers for hepatitis B virus, namely surface antigen (HBsag) and surface antibody (anti-HBs or HBsab), E antigen (HBeAg) and E antibody (anti-HBe or HBEAB), core antigen (HBcAG) and core antibody (anti-HBc or HBaB). Because the core antigen is not easy to detect in the blood, there are two pairs of hapten antibodies left, which is often referred to as the hepatitis B two-and-half test.
Fourth, summary
Liver disease is a serious health problem, and early detection and improvement of the quality of life of patients is of great significance to increase the rate and improve the quality of life of patients. By observing early symptoms such as "two reds and three pains" and conducting regular liver disease screening, we can detect and improve liver disease in time to avoid the deterioration of the condition. At the same time, maintaining good living habits, reasonable diet, and moderate exercise can also help prevent the occurrence of liver disease. Let's focus on liver health from now on and stay away from liver disease.