World Liver Day is a worldwide health awareness event celebrated on 19th April annually aimed at drawing attention towards ailments related to the general public. The liver is one of our body’s most essential organs, responsible for vital functions such as detoxification, metabolism of nutrients, regulation of blood clotting, etc. When infected or damaged, it becomes difficult for the liver to carry on with its normal functions, hampering our body’s normal working.

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This year’s World Liver Day theme is to be vigilant and do a regular liver check-up; fatty liver can affect anyone. It emphasizes the importance of regular liver check-ups as the fatty liver can affect anyone. It’s been recently found that fatty liver can even occur in those individuals who stay clear of alcohol consumption. This is called no-alcoholic fatty liver. This mainly happens due to low body mass index (<25 kg/m2).

Many NGOs, healthcare policymakers, private medical practitioners, and international groups come together to organize activities to educate the masses about liver-related diseases.

The liver is an amazing part of our organ system. It’s not only the largest internal organ of our body but also receives 25% of the total blood supply every minute to perform its function efficiently. The liver is also the only organ blessed with the capacity for regeneration. It can regrow itself from its tissues after injury or partial removal. It can do so even after damage up to 60-70%!

The liver plays a vital role in the digestion of our food. It produces almost 1000 enzymes to aid in various metabolic processes. It produces urea that breaks down the proteins in our body. It also breaks down and eliminates drugs and alcohol from our bodies. It stores many vitamins, minerals, and even glucose. World Liver Day focuses on activities to educate people about the severity, early detection, and prevention of liver diseases.

Almost 2 million people around the world die annually because of liver-inflicted diseases. According to scientists, the number is set to increase drastically by 2030. Liver cancer and cirrhosis account for 3.5% of all fatalities (death) globally.

This spike in number is mainly due to a lack of awareness of disease seriousness, associated risk factors, and prevention. On world liver day, experts from the hepatology field come forward in large numbers to create awareness about the risks of liver diseases and their prevention. It also includes modification in diet and lifestyle.

Liver ailments can create havoc on a person’s physical and mental health. Diseases such as hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and cancer can make the liver irreparable. On top of that, quality liver-related disease treatments are not available everywhere.

Fatty liver is also one of the ailments that can cause irreparable damage to the liver. Although fatty liver shows no symptoms in its initial stage, there are some signs and symptoms on eyes, face and skin that one should look out for. These symptoms include:

• Darkening of the skin: This starts on the neck, to be specific, nape of the neck. It then spreads to other areas of the skin. This darkening of skin indicates insulin resistance and is the first symptom of fatty liver. Look out for skin darkening around your neck, armpits and groin area.
• Excessive chubbiness: If your face or any other part of the body has excessive fat deposition, it is also an early indication of fatty liver disease
• Xanthelasma: Also called xanthomas, these are the whitish streaks mainly present around the eyes, face or in some parts of the skin. It indicates high cholesterol. One should get checked for fatty liver disease on seeing such streaks.

It is highly possible for a person to miss the above-mentioned signs and symptoms. Here are some more pronounced signs and symptoms which call for treatment:

• Jaundice: It is the yellowing of skin and eye whites due to the liver’s inability to get rid of bilirubin from blood.
• Spider Angiomas: These are the small, red spider-like appearance of blood vessels on the neck and face. This happens due to increased levels of estrogen in the bloodstream and is a very evident sign of a liver ailment.
• Dark circles: Pronounced dark circles under eyes can be an indication of liver disease. When liver is unable to filter toxins from the blood, it can result in a build-up.
• Palmer erythema: It is condition where the palms become red due to the increased blood flow to the palms. It is believed that it happens due to the build-up of toxins in the liver.
• Acne or other skin conditions: The toxin build-up due to liver’s inability to filter blood can also lead to acne.

In most cases, modifications in lifestyle and dietary habits can improve the condition of the liver, but severe cases ask for proper treatment and even surgery in some cases.

Gomedii aims to create an ecosystem to provide affordable liver treatment to all its international and domestic medical travelers. We understand the severity of such ailments and strive to make affordable therapies accessible.

If you are looking for any liver-related treatment, click here.

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