Signs and Symptoms of Liver Disease

Liver disease is a broad term for any condition that affects the liver. The liver is an important organ in your body that helps you digest food, store energy, and remove toxins. There are many types of liver disease, including hepatitis, fatty liver disease, liver cancer, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver failure. Each of these conditions has its own unique set of symptoms.

While each type of liver condition presents symptoms a little differently, all types of liver diseases do share some common symptoms. These symptoms include nausea, unintentional weight loss, fatigue, loss of appetite, and pain in the upper right side of the abdomen. Unfortunately, most people don't notice symptoms until they're in a more severe stage of liver disease. That's why it's vital to learn the warning signs early and understand when to seek medical care.

Hepatitis Symptoms

Hepatitis is a type of liver inflammation that can eventually damage the liver and affect its normal functioning. Hepatitis typically occurs after you become infected with the hepatitis A, B, C, D, or E viruses. In some cases, hepatitis can also happen due to drinking excess alcohol or when your immune system mistakenly attacks itself (known as autoimmune hepatitis).

If you develop hepatitis, you may experience the following symptoms:

• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Dark urine
• Joint pain 
• Fatigue
• Clay-colored poops
• Jaundice, or the yellowing of your eyes and skin

In some people, hepatitis can be hard to detect, as they may not experience symptoms for several years. But in most cases, symptoms of hepatitis start to develop within two weeks to six months of the viral infection.

Fibrosis Symptoms

Fibrosis is a liver disease that causes your liver tissue to scar or thicken. This condition typically develops because of persistent (ongoing) liver inflammation, which eventually leads to the build-up of collagen and other proteins in your liver. As a result, your liver starts to form scar tissue, which is harmful because scar tissue can block or limit blood flow within the liver and kill healthy liver cells.

When fibrosis is mild or moderate, the condition doesn't cause any symptoms. However, if your condition progresses to a more significant level of scar tissue, you'll likely develop cirrhosis—a more severe type of liver disease that does cause symptoms. 

Cirrhosis Symptoms

Cirrhosis is a condition that occurs when scar tissue replaces healthy liver tissue, leading to a blockage in blood flow through your liver. If cirrhosis symptoms aren't treated early, your condition can progress to liver failure. If you are experiencing cirrhosis, you may notice the following symptoms:

• Itchy skin
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Pain in the upper right side of the abdomen
• Muscle cramps and weakness
• Unintentional weight loss

If your condition worsens, it's also possible to experience more serious symptoms, such as:

• Swelling in your ankles, lower feet, or lower legs
• Internal bleeding due to the bursting of large veins in your liver
• Ascites, or fluid build-up in your abdomen
• Dark urine
• Bruising or bleeding easily
• Jaundice
• Confusion and memory loss

Fatty Liver Disease Symptoms

Fatty liver disease is a condition where excess fat accumulates in the liver. The fat build-up can occur either due to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or alcoholic fatty liver disease. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease can develop due to underlying health conditions like type 2 diabetes, obesity, or high blood pressure. Alcoholic fatty liver disease mostly occurs if you have engaged in excessive and long-term alcohol consumption.

Both types of fatty liver diseases are mostly silent diseases that cause little to no symptoms. If you do develop symptoms of fatty liver disease, you'll likely experience abdominal pain on the upper right side or fatigue. Like fibrosis, fatty liver disease can also worsen and cause cirrhosis. If your condition progresses, it's common to also experience symptoms of cirrhosis later on.

Liver Cancer Symptoms

Liver cancer occurs when cancer cells form in the liver. Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer among adults and is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.

Typically, symptoms of liver cancer tend to develop when the cancer progresses. Symptoms can vary from person to person and will depend on the severity of your condition. But, you may notice the following symptoms:

• A hard lump on the right side of your abdomen below the rib cage
• Abdominal pain on the upper right side
• Swollen abdomen
• Jaundice
• Bruising and bleeding easily
• Excessive fatigue
• Unexplained weight loss
• Nausea
• Pale-colored stools (poops)
• Dark urine
• Fever

Liver Failure Symptoms

Liver failure is a condition that happens when your liver function declines—or, doesn't work as well as it's supposed to. The reason this happens is because of long-term liver damage, which may occur because of hepatitis, cirrhosis, or liver injury.

If you're experiencing liver failure, it's common to experience symptoms like:

• Extreme fatigue
• Nausea
• Abdominal pain on the upper right side
• Dark urine
• Jaundice 
• Mental confusion or brain fog, as a result of hepatic encephalopathy (a condition that causes a lack of brain function when your liver isn't able to remove toxins from your body properly)
• Fluid and swelling in your abdomen
  

Symptoms in Children

The prevalence of liver disease is on the rise among children and adolescents. Liver disease can occur in children due to various factors such as inherited disorders that affect metabolism, taking certain medications, having a bile duct disorder, or low blood flow to the liver. Liver disease usually affects children similarly as it does adults. If your child has liver disease, they may experience:

• Nausea
• Abdominal pain
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Jaundice
• Itchy skin
• Confusion
• Irritability
• Trouble sleeping

When to Contact a Healthcare Provider

If your condition is left untreated, liver disease can cause irreversible liver damage, which can eventually lead to liver failure. You may want to visit your healthcare provider if you are experiencing the following symptoms:

• Abdominal pain that does not go away
• Extreme fatigue
• High fever
• Excessive swelling of the abdomen
• Shortness of breath
• Vomiting blood
• Blood in your stool

Your healthcare provider may recommend certain tests such as liver function tests, a liver biopsy, and imaging scans to confirm a liver disease diagnosis. Early diagnosis and treatment can help to delay the progression of liver disease and even reverse the liver damage.

A Quick Review

Liver disease is a general term for any condition that affects the liver and its functioning. There are several types of liver disease, such as hepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure. While symptoms of all types of liver disease share some common symptoms, each condition causes its own set of unique symptoms. Common symptoms include fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain.

Unfortunately, most often people do not notice or experience symptoms of liver disease until significant liver damage takes place. But when your condition progresses, your liver function can decline rapidly and cause more serious symptoms. If you start experiencing high fever, blood in your stool, or excessive swelling in your abdomen, it's good practice to see your healthcare provider as soon as you can.