Alcoholic Hepatitis: A serious, deadly disease

New Year has just arrived and we all had our fair share of fun! The expectation to consume alcohol has become attached to increasing numbers and types of social occasions, including New Year celebrations. Alcohol has taken a centre stage in enabling the formation and maintenance of relationships, and also creating the occasions for socializing in these circumstances.

Excessive alcohol consumption, over the years, causes alcoholic liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis (AH), and, in the end, may lead to the replacement of healthy liver tissue with scar tissue which is known as liver cirrhosis.

Alcoholic Hepatitis can become evident after long-term drinking, a major risk factor, and can be life-threatening. However, the relationship between drinking and alcoholic hepatitis is complex. Not all heavy drinkers develop alcoholic hepatitis, and the disease can also occur in people who drink only moderately. If one has hepatitis B or C and also drinks — even moderately — they are more likely to develop cirrhosis than if they don’t drink. Heavy drinkers are mostly malnourished because they eat poorly or because alcohol and its derivatives prevent the body from absorbing nutrients properly. Lack of nutrients in turn contributes to liver cell damage. Other less common risk factors include being women, being obese, genetic factors, being blacks or Hispanics, and binge drinking-having five or more drinks within two hours for men and four or more for women.

Alcoholic Hepatitis involves inflammation and scarring of the liver, which inhibits blood flow in the organ, reducing its vital functions. Even though alcoholic hepatitis might be diagnosed as “mild,” it is a grave condition necessitating abstinence from alcoholic beverages.

The most common sign of alcoholic hepatitis is jaundice. Other common symptoms include:

• Malnutrition & loss of appetite
• Nausea and vomiting
• Abdominal tenderness
• Fever, often low grade
• Fatigue and weakness

Further signs and symptoms that may be present with severe alcoholic hepatitis are:

• Fluid accumulation in abdomen
• Confusion and behaviour changes due to accumulation of toxins normally broken down and eliminated by the liver
• Kidney and liver failure

If any of these signs and symptoms are noticeable, it is imperative to seek medical advice and intervention at this stage. The doctor will at first ask for a liver function test, which will reveal if liver enzymes are elevated.

So, have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? If not, why not start with giving up on alcohol and show some love to your liver!