THE CAUSE OF DILI
A drug overdose causes DILI. However, it’s not necessarily from illegal drugs. It can be drugs such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), acetaminophen, cancer medications, neuropsychiatric drugs, dietary supplements, and many more. The drug that contributes to DILI the most is acetaminophen, while antibiotics are the most common class of drugs that cause the condition.
TEN RED FLAGS THAT INDICATE LIVER TOXICITY
REALLY DARK URINE
While this is due to liver disease, it’s also due to jaundice. When broken down properly by the liver, bilirubin is what helps to give urine. It’s a yellow color. However, with liver disease, the bilirubin could leak from the kidneys since the liver does not process it. This means the absence of the chemical can lead to dark urine. It can get so dark that it may even be a dark brown color.
JAUNDICE
Jaundice occurs when a person has too much bilirubin in their system. Bilirubin is a bile pigment that the liver usually clears out. However, a low-functioning liver can’t effectively do this.
Jaundice is characterized by a yellowing of the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes. Doctors don’t treat jaundice. They treat whatever it caused. However, once the underlying condition is treated, jaundice usually goes away (unless your liver is failing).
RASHES
In most cases, a rash can indicate a liver disease caused by an infection, not toxicity. However, DILI can occasionally happen because of the liver not being able to filter out toxins. These toxins can settle under the skin or even interact with the skin causing negative effects that might lead to rashes.
NAUSEA OR VOMITING
This is one of the earliest signs of liver disease. It makes sense that the body would react this way with all the toxins that the liver can’t properly dispose of. All these toxins that spill over into your body put too much stress on your digestive system, resulting in a nauseated feeling. The vomiting is likely a direct result of liver damage.
ITCHING
The medical term for itching due to liver disease is pruritus. There is still a lot of research on this condition, but doctors suspect it’s due to several factors that occur in just the right way. One theory that doctors suggest is bile salts. Since a low-functioning liver can’t clear them out properly, they could accumulate under the skin, causing itching.
WEIGHT LOSS
This is a common side effect of liver damage, particularly cirrhosis. Since the liver can’t process food and waste properly, it can’t pull nutrients from food. This leads to malnutrition. While scientists are still studying weight loss due to liver damage, it’s been shown that weight loss can happen to anyone regardless of their age, gender, race, or other factors.
FATIGUE
Fatigue is the most common symptom that people have due to liver disease. Scientists are still researching the reasons why fatigue occurs, but some strong theories give a reasonable explanation. One big theory is that the central neurotransmission system is affected by liver disease. The signals to the brain could be causing a fatigue response.
There isn’t an effective treatment for fatigue due to liver disease right now. However, doctors may try to offer treatments for lack of sleep if the disease causes this.
ABDOMINAL PAIN
The abdomen is just one of several places that pain could occur due to liver disease.
There are quite a few reasons this can occur. One of the more common reasons is called ascites. This condition is a buildup of fluid in the abdomen from the leaking of the liver and intestines.
Sometimes the pain a person experiences could be from the liver itself but may feel like it’s in the abdomen. The person could also experience back pain.
FEVER
Science suggests three reasons that a fever occurs from liver disease. The first is due to endotoxemia. This is when endotoxins aren’t sufficiently cleared from their blood because the liver isn’t functioning properly.
Infections could be the cause of a fever. Since the liver can’t clear bacteria as thoroughly as it should, this leaves people more susceptible to getting sick. The third reason could be due to alcohol hepatitis. Fever is one of the symptoms of this type of liver damage.
LOSS OF COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS
Liver disease can lead to a condition called hepatic encephalopathy. This is a condition where a person begins to lose certain cognitive functions. The condition can be mild or severe and can be acute or chronic.
Symptoms of mild cases include mild personality changes, difficulty thinking, memory problems, confusion, foul breath, and more. More severe symptoms are severe personality changes, fatigue, shakiness, anxiety, seizures, or more. If the condition is bad enough, the person could even slip into a coma.
Hepatic encephalopathy can be reversed with the proper treatment if it’s caught in time.