Use Intermountain Connect Care®
Learn More.
The liver is one of the largest organs in your body. It performs hundreds of functions, but its primary jobs are to help digest food, store energy, remove harmful substances from your blood, and fight disease.
The liver can be damaged by several diseases and conditions. These include:
Liver disease symptoms vary depending on which type of disease one has. In some cases, there may be no symptoms. Common symptoms associated with 1 or more liver diseases include:
See your healthcare provider if you have:
Liver disease causes depend on the type of disease:
For different types of hepatitis, a virus that is spread from person to person in a variety of ways:
For fatty liver disease:
For hemochromatosis:
Doctors don’t know exactly what causes hemochromatosis. They do know that it is inherited. About 5 out of every 1000 people in the U.S. have it. It is most common among people of western European heritage.
For liver cancer:
Liver cancer is most commonly found in those who have:
Liver cancer can also be caused by eating foods containing aflatoxin, a poison found in fungi growing on corn, peanuts, and other foods in warm, humid areas.
To diagnose liver disease, a healthcare provider will likely ask about medical history and perform a physical exam. This may include feeling the abdomen and checking eye color. Depending on the symptoms, the following tests may be ordered:
Treatment for liver disease depends on the type.
For hepatitis types A through E, treatment includes:
For autoimmune hepatitis, treatment includes:
For NAFLD, treatment can often include:
For alcohol-related liver disease, treatment includes:
For hemochromatosis, this condition can be treated effectively and easily with blood donations. Donating blood will help remove excess iron from the body each week until it becomes normal. Any complications from hemochromatosis can also be treated as appropriate.
For liver cancer, treatment depends on the severity and type of liver cancer one has and includes:
Prevent both child and adult hepatitis by:
There is no known way to prevent autoimmune hepatitis.
Prevent fatty liver disease by:
There is no known way to prevent primary hemochromatosis.
Prevent liver cancer by following the above liver disease prevention recommendations. Long-term complications from liver disease increase the risk of getting liver cancer.