what causes an enlarged liver what causes an enlarged liver

What Causes an Enlarged Liver: 5 Easy Methods to Prevent it

For those of you, who love to gorge on that amazing buttered-up junk food or cannot wait to get the party started with a huge amount of booze, this article might help you for future reference when you blame your metabolism and stomach for acting up.

Here, we tell you about the most neglected organ of the body and how if not taken care of, it can hamper your whole digestive system cause often big explosion comes from small packets!

If you suspect this article might be helpful for you or someone you are aware of, stay with it and unfold facts and bust myths to take better care of yourself in the future.

Our primary concern is what an enlarged liver

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is, followed by what causes an enlarged liver, and we will get into it shortly. 

Understanding Hepatomegaly or enlarged Liver disease

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To understand a disease or condition of a body, the wise thing to do is to get to the bottom of the history of the particular area or organ affected and dig deep to be ready with the required ammo like it happens right before a battle.

Bodily dysfunctions are no less of a war, the difference being, here, the enemy lives within and should be “taken care of” in necessary ways before it can do any further damage. So to understand what causes an enlarged liver, we must start our study with the liver and then get into liver diseases.

The Liver is a major organ-specific to vertebrates that carry out major functions like detoxifying blood in our system, protein synthesis for the body’s growth and development, and more.

It is an accessory organ to the digestive system

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that has a pretty important role in your food metabolism. You wouldn’t want to upset your liver with your tantrums or who knows, god forbid, what liver disease you end up with, and trust the writer, liver damage is the last thing you’d want to do!

Let’s move on to our next step, where we learn about the liver functions in detail, shall we?

What does the Liver do? 

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To start with, it holds your digestive system in place so that you can enjoy all the delicacies and the junk alike and ensures your body is still functioning and not collapsing when you’re not taking a healthy diet!

The liver excretes a fluid called bile, which contains bile acid and cholesterol, a name that almost everyone is familiar with that helps break down fatty acids

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in the body. Later some of this bile is stored in this little organ called the gall bladder, which doesn’t have many functions.

However, the stored bile plays an important role in breaking down complex food particles consumed by the body into the simpler absorbable non-toxic unit for the body to use.

Liver disease hampers all these processes, and the whole system gets disrupted, and yet you complain about your abdomen paining while your liver health conditions are getting rather poor!

Imagine you’re eating unhealthy foods, for instance, cotton candy, and as we all know, it is an overbrimming bucket of glucose, and all that sugar is going into your body, and you still do not feel sick? Courtesy goes to your liver.

However, there is always a price to pay. Too much sugar in the blood means the liver has to store extra glucose for the body’s later use. Still, by that time, the liver tissue might start converting extra sugar into fat, bringing down the liver’s productivity rate.

Gradually, the person might get affected by Type 2 diabetes, thus increasing the odds of contracting a liver disease like fatty liver disease. So you better be careful next time you indulge in your sweet tooth.

Out of as many as 500 different liver functions, one of the most common liver diseases is liver enlargement.

An enlarged liver is an underlying disease of a faulty digestive system caused due to various reasons, which we will bring to your attention in this article, things such as what exactly is enlarged liver is and what causes an enlarged liver. So keep an eye out to know more!

What happens when the liver is not taken care of?

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The liver is an organ that is well connected to every other one in the body. Due to its multi-dimensional efficiency as an accessory organ to the major ones of the body, it must be kept out of danger at all costs.

However, due to its efficiency, the liver is also known to be vulnerable to susceptible liver disease, which can cause disturbance in the whole body, given all the liver’s functions involve the growth and sustenance of a human being!

What are the most common diseases contracted due to liver damage?

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  • Hepatitis

The first name that comes to mind when talking about diseases of the liver is Hepatitis a, Hepatitis b, Hepatitis c, and Hepatitis D.

Hepatitis

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is a pretty common viral liver disease that causes liver inflammation. When taken into account, millions over and across the globe are down with it daily.

However, it should be noted that hepatitis b might be serious but preventable through a vaccine.

  • Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, or NAFLD

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, might be a lifelong battle occurring in an individual where liver tissue is lined with fatty substances.

  • Alcoholic fatty liver disease

When fat accumulated in the liver is due to alcohol abuse, an individual who drinks excessive alcohol becomes an alcohol-related liver disease, commonly called alcoholic fatty liver disease.

  • Cirrhosis of the Liver

It is more of a late-stage disease where scarred tissues replace the healthy liver tissues, and the change is irreversible, which means the liver is permanently damaged and ceases to function properly. 

  • Hepatic encephalopathy

It is a nervous system disorder that causes impairment to cognitive functions. When we said the liver is a multidimensional organ that is an accessory organ to major body organs, we meant every word of it! The liver is known to detoxify toxins from the blood.

When it fails to do so due to several reasons, for example, liver enlargement or fatty liver, it fails to do so. Thus, the toxins are stored in the liver, and detoxification does not occur as planned.

The diluted blood affects our central nervous system when it reaches the brain resulting in confusing behavior in a patient, brain hampers, and can be as fatal as a coma.

Now that we have a summary of the liver as an organ, time to get into the primary concern of the article. An enlarged liver and what causes an enlarged liver.

What exactly is an Enlarged liver?

Enlarged liver is a condition that, in medical terms, is known as Hepatomegaly

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. It should be noted that this condition is more of an underlying cause of a more serious disease and not a disease itself.

In an enlarged liver, the size of the normal, healthy liver is modified to that of an extraordinarily large size which is unhealthy and a problem that should be taken care of while there is still time!

Enlarged liver might indicate a symptom of a greater, far more severe disease like congested heart failure, benign liver tumors or liver cancer, etc.

Risk factors and what causes an enlarged liver?

what causes an enlarged liver
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If you need a heads up before looking out for symptoms to be positive that you might fall under the population who might contract this particular condition, here is a checklist to tick off if the list clicks for you.

One of the conditions is partially a genetic disorder; therefore, if you have someone in the family with a bad health history, then consider genetic diseases on the checklist.

Are you someone who has a very hectic lifestyle? Food habits messed up? Not in proper health and no exercise? Then keep reading.

It has been observed that people with an unhealthy pattern of weight gain and who have an unhinged lifestyle and eating habits with minimal exercising are prone to liver enlargement.

Sometimes excessive alcohol use also promotes an enlarged figure when you do not count how much alcohol has been consumed.

People who drink alcohol should check their health since it directly affects their liver health. So if you think you fall under these categories, gear up for the next ports.

How do you know you have an enlarged liver?

Continuing our quest for what causes an enlarged liver, take note that there are visible symptoms of an enlarged liver, some of which might also be severe.

It is a common notion that your body can talk as much as your mouth. It can tell what you need when you need it and if your body is uncomfortable.

All you have to do is pay attention to the signs that your body shows with special significance to the details, and follow our list of what causes an enlarged liver.

Symptoms of liver enlargement

  • Fatigue: One of the most common indicators is lethargy and fatigue
  • Nausea: If you have a loss of appetite and feel like puking after meals, then it might be an alert
  • Abdominal pain: If you are experiencing light or severe abdominal pain and fever together, it is an indicator.
  • Jaundice: Yellowing of your eyes, nails, and urine and decrease in blood count, i.e., Jaundice is a major indicator of the condition.

Diagnosis

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So now that we have covered the primary concern of “What causes liver enlargement,” let us proceed to the next step.

Multiple tests are to be done and undergone depending on your symptoms to know whether you have the condition. Here are the basic ones that you might find helpful enough.

  • Abdominal Ultrasonography: Blood tests, especially the ones in the Liver Function Series, help determine a patient’s metabolic environment
  • Lastly, a liver biopsy where the examiner takes a sample of your liver tissue to determine the condition and health of your liver.

Preventive Methods

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  1. The trick of cure is healing from within first! Of course, you have to stay away from what causes an enlarged liver, adding to the fact that to get rid of this illness, it is high time you add a balanced diet to your meal plan. Maintaining a healthy weight should be a top priority!
  2. Go for herbal supplements. They are painless with close to zero consequences instead of going chemical ones.
  3. Try taking homeopathic medicine and going old school because if it helps, why not!
  4. Start exercising and doing yoga to return to your rejuvenated body, healthy youth, and a little peace of mind.
  5. Try controlling cholesterol, blood pressure, and sugar intake, as they can further aggravate the problem.

To fight a disease, you must educate yourself on the organ that is affected and the disease itself in detail and clarify any questions and doubts in your mind about it.

Taking care of yourself at the end of the day is never overrated and appreciating your flaws and working towards them is what we should be chasing at this hour. Take care and respect your body!

Conclusion

Here’s everything you need to know about liver disease and liver damage. Keeping in mind, our primary concern is liver enlargement and its causes.

Where we walked you through every tad bit, you need to know about an enlarged liver, starting from what is an enlarged liver to what causes an enlarged liver.

FAQs

Q. Can liver enlargement be cured?
  • Your doctor determines your liver enlargement treatment based on the underlying condition or cause. Enlarged liver treatment options: If the underlying condition is alcoholic hepatitis or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, then abstinence from alcohol consumption and adopting a healthy lifestyle would benefit you.
Q. Is 16.5 cm an enlarged liver?
  • Hepatomegaly is a condition in which the liver is enlarged, generally greater than 15 centimeters in the midclavicular line. However, normal liver size varies by person depending on the person’s sex, age, height, weight, and body size.
Q. Can a liver return to normal size?
  • A liver can regrow to a normal size even after up to 90% of it has been removed. But the liver isn’t invincible. Many diseases and exposures can harm it beyond the point of repair. These include cancer, hepatitis, certain medication overdoses, and fatty liver disease.

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  2. Li, Cheng, et al. “Current in vitro digestion systems for understanding food digestion in human upper gastrointestinal tract.” Trends in Food Science & Technology 96 (2020): 114-126. ↩︎
  3. Chen, Jiapeng, and Hongbing Liu. “Nutritional indices for assessing fatty acids: A mini-review.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21.16 (2020): 5695. ↩︎
  4. Razavi, Homie. “Global epidemiology of viral hepatitis.” Gastroenterology Clinics 49.2 (2020): 179-189. ↩︎
  5. Riazi, Kiarash, et al. “The prevalence and incidence of NAFLD worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” The lancet gastroenterology & hepatology (2022). ↩︎
  6. Perez, Alberto A., et al. “Deep learning CT-based quantitative visualization tool for liver volume estimation: defining normal and hepatomegaly.” Radiology 302.2 (2022): 336-342. ↩︎

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Srijani Deb

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