Liver Pain? Here’s What To Do

The liver is regarded as the largest visceral organ of the body, and performs vital functions in the body from the breakdown of food components into nutrients, removal of body wastes, and it even plays a significant role in the immune system of the body. An interesting fact about the liver is that it is one of the few organs in the body that can regenerate again, making it able to tolerate some degree of injury. However, when liver pain is felt by an individual, it means that a serious problem is indeed present in the body. 

Liver pain is characterized by an aching or discomfort in the upper right aspect of the abdomen since this is where the liver is located. The pain may either be dull or very sharp depending on the reason of the pain; may radiate to the back, and it is also described as intermittent in duration. An important thing that must be emphasized is the fact that liver pain cannot be mistaken for abdominal pain since the discomfort arising from liver disorders is concentrated in an area just below the rib cage and the pain radiates to the abdominal area. The characteristic of liver pain depends on the cause of the discomfort – continuous pain is related to increased pressure on the capsule that covers the liver; sudden, sharp and continuous pain is associated with direct trauma or injury to the liver; and dull pain is usually associated with inflammation of the liver.

Another thing that must be noted is that liver pain does not only occur alone, it is accompanied by a multitude of other signs. Skin changes are very much common like the body starting to become yellow in color, the presence of rashes and blemishes that are brown to blue in color, itching of the skin and inflammation of palms and soles. The eyes also tend to become yellow in color with swelling and itching of the area surrounding it. Aside from these changes that can be observed at a glance, the individual may also manifest too much sweating, foul smelling breath, body odor that is unpleasant, easy fatigability, changes in breathing, and disorientation. Nausea and vomiting; enlargement of the abdomen and inability to tolerate certain types of foods are also other accompanying symptoms to pain in the liver border.

Unlike other symptoms, liver pain is a very serious matter and must be consulted with the physician or any health care provider as soon as possible. This sign can be attributed to a lot of metabolic problems hence; diagnostic tests and physical examination must be undergone in order to identify the exact reason for experiencing this type of pain and thus provide the right kind of management to address the problem. This sign is linked to hepatitis or inflammation of the liver, inflammation of the stomach or gastritis, inflammation of the pancreas or pancreatitis, fatty liver disease, abscess and infection of the liver, chronic alcoholism, stones in the gallbladder, ascites and even malignancy.