Did you know that the early stages of liver failure do not necessarily manifest as significant abdominal pain? Once many people feel discomfort in their abdomen, they begin to wonder if there is something wrong with their liver.

However, liver lesions, especially in the early stages, often don't have that direct signals, and sometimes you don't even feel pain in your abdomen. This is why liver problems are often overlooked at an early stage and are not detected until the disease is severe.

In my many years of experience as a doctor, cases of liver failure are not uncommon, especially when many patients do not experience abdominal pain, and liver problems often quietly eat away at their health.

In many cases, patients do not realize that they are in the early stages of liver failure, and do not go to the hospital until their symptoms worsen, which is often regrettable. In fact, the body will send some subtle signals when there are problems with the liver in the early stages, but many people ignore these cues.

Unexplained fatigue

Do you ever feel that you are not so tired from work, but you always feel low on energy? Feel weak when you take two steps, feel exhausted when you do a small thing, and feel exhausted even if you sit in a daze?

This extreme fatigue is often blamed on stressful work or lack of exercise, and some people may even say directly, "I'm too tired, maybe I'm sick." In reality, however, this unexplained tiredness is likely to be a distress signal from the liver.

有位患者，工作繁忙，每天坐在电脑前工作十几个小时，她告诉我，自己每天都觉得没有力气，有时候早上起来连穿衣服的力气都没有。

It wasn't until after a series of tests that it was discovered that her liver function had begun to decline, approaching the early stage of liver failure.

Clinical studies have also shown that a significant symptom in the early stage of liver failure is extreme fatigue and physical exhaustion, which is medically known as "hepatic fatigue".

This is because the liver is the center of metabolism, responsible for breaking down toxins and producing energy, and when liver function is impaired, the body cannot use energy normally, resulting in general fatigue and even a feeling of collapse.

Erythema on the palms and soles of the feet

If you look closely, you may find that you or some people around you sometimes have strange red spots on the palms or soles of your feet, which you may not particularly care about, thinking that it is just inadvertent friction in life or caused by some external factors.

As everyone knows, this may be a problem with the liver, especially in the early stage of the gradual decline of liver function, many patients will have the phenomenon of palmar erythema or palmar erythema, which is medically known as "palmar liver".

This erythema is not painful or itchy, and it looks similar to a normal allergic reaction, but it usually appears in people with damaged livers.

In one patient, he had obvious red spots on the palms and soles of his feet, especially when he rested at night, and he didn't pay much attention to it at first, thinking that his skin would naturally change as he got older.

But after a detailed examination and symptomatic diagnosis, I found that his liver function had deteriorated severely, and the liver had little ability to repair itself.

Research tells us that if the liver is not too strong, the hormones and blood flow in the body will be affected, which can make the blood vessels in the skin bigger, and the result is red spots on the palms and soles of the feet.

Especially those with chronic liver disease, their liver's metabolic capacity is limited, and there are also problems with hormone secretion and regulation, which leads to this happening.

The whites of the eyes turn yellow

It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul, but in fact they can also reflect the state of health, and we often look at the color of the eyes to find out about a person's physical condition.

If the whites of your eyes suddenly turn yellow, then this is not only a sign of "staying up late", but also more likely to be a liver problem, especially one of the signs of liver failure, jaundice, that is, the yellowing of the whites of the eyes and skin, which is usually caused by the liver can not metabolize and excrete bilirubin normally.

One patient, who did not have many symptoms in the early days, did not even have abdominal pain, until one day, his family told him that his eyes were a little yellow, and he began to realize the seriousness of the problem.

He didn't feel anything wrong with his stomach at first, but he was shocked by the results of the hospital examination, his liver had been damaged, and his blood test results showed abnormally high levels of bilirubin, and he was finally diagnosed with chronic liver failure.

Jaundice is often a signal of liver problems, under normal conditions, the liver will process the hemoglobin in red blood cells, metabolize bilirubin and excrete it from the body, if the liver is injured, the function begins to decline, bilirubin can not be excreted, will accumulate in the blood, and finally may lead to jaundice.

Loss of appetite

If you have recently noticed that you or someone close to you has lost interest in food, you don't even want to eat anything, and your weight has lost somehow, don't think it's just a small thing in life.

Loss of appetite, especially if there are no external factors, often has a lot to do with the health of the liver.

As the largest metabolic organ in the body, the liver is responsible for many physiological functions, including regulating appetite and digestion.

One patient, in recent months, has noticed that he often loses interest in food and loses his appetite.

At first, he thought it was caused by too much work pressure and wondered if he had a stomach problem, but after some careful examination, he realized that his liver function was slowly weakening.

According to various medical studies, there is a close relationship between appetite loss and liver disease, especially in patients with liver insufficiency, the digestion and absorption of food will be greatly affected, resulting in insufficient nutrient supply in the body, which will affect the overall appetite.

So, if you find that you have a bad appetite and can't find any obvious cause, it's best to check your liver function as soon as possible.

The initial symptoms of liver failure are not always severe, and they are often very insidious, and even some of the more typical symptoms such as abdominal pain and edema do not appear. If you find yourself with similar symptoms, seek medical attention and do some tests in time may detect liver problems at an early stage and avoid further deterioration of the condition.

The above content is for reference only, if you feel unwell, please consult a professional doctor in time

What do you think about liver failure? Welcome to discuss in the comment area!

Proofread by Zhuang Wu