How to find out when the liver hurts - signs. News of health, medicine and longevity. General weakness and increased fatigue

The liver is quite large internal organ in humans. Its weight can reach up to 1.5 kilograms. Every day, numerous cells perform a variety of tasks important functions. First of all, they are responsible for maintaining cleanliness inside the body. We can say that this is a kind of filter that does not allow any substances into the general bloodstream. harmful substances. That is why it is very important to notice in time the very first symptoms that something is wrong with her. The work is so important that due to liver disease, numerous other problems can begin and the patient’s condition may generally worsen.

How to diagnose

Each person can independently determine if he has any problems if he carefully monitors his health and appearance. After all, all such diseases have a number of symptoms. To notice most of them, just look closely at the person. These signs will be discussed in more detail below.

And, in addition, you can take a blood test at any clinic and find out for sure whether there are any problems with the organ in question. In some cases, an ultrasound examination of the body is also prescribed. Both of these methods are familiar to us and practically painless.

What are the first signs and symptoms of liver disease?

Many diseases immediately affect a person’s face and body. This allows the patient to notice the problem in time, go to the doctor and immediately begin appropriate treatment, protecting himself from more serious problems.

On the face

The whites of the eyes acquire a yellowish tint, which is very easy to notice.
The condition of the skin on the face changes dramatically - a lot of pimples appear, it becomes too dry or, conversely, too moist.
Spider veins appear and dark spots.

On the skin

The skin all over the body may take on a yellowish tint.
Pigment spots may begin to appear sharply on any area of the skin. Thus, the skin tries to take over some of the functions of the liver.
The skin looks lifeless and tired.
Wen begins to appear all over the body.

In addition to such external signs a person can also:

start to get tired quickly and lose your former performance;
lose appetite;
acquire a flaccid, protruding belly, which may be a consequence of fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity;
feel that the color and structure of hair and nails have changed. They become more brittle and weaker;
suffer from insomnia and night sweats;
feel constant sign bitterness in the mouth and notice that the tongue is covered with a yellowish coating. But also .
begin to have a hard time tolerating too fatty foods, even if such a feature was not observed in him before;
and much more.

Every patient should always pay attention to such symptoms and try to seek help from their doctor in a timely manner. This will prevent more serious problems about health. The sooner treatment begins, the faster, easier and more effective it will be.

Alcohol disease

Such a disease can develop in a patient who has been abusing alcoholic beverages for a long time. As a rule, this period is about 10 years. For men, this is daily consumption of 40-80 grams of ethanol, for women - 20 grams.

Alcohol diseases can manifest themselves in the form of fatty degeneration, cirrhosis and alcoholic hepatitis.
Moreover, the risk of the appearance and development of such a disease in men is three times higher than in the fair sex. After all, men drink alcoholic beverages much more often. But in women, such diseases develop much more actively and faster, even when consuming less of the dangerous drink. This is influenced by gender characteristics of the removal of alcohol from the body, as well as its absorption.

Most often, such diseases are practically asymptomatic. But sometimes patients experience the following symptoms:

weakness and loss of appetite;
jaundice;
Blunt pain in the area of the right hypochondrium;
depressed mood;
nausea, heartburn or belching;
Men sometimes experience shrinkage of the testicles and enlargement of the mammary glands.

What does an unhealthy organ look like during medical diagnosis?

If a patient has obvious symptoms of any liver disease, the doctor will most likely refer him for a special examination, during which he will examine appearance organ using special device. By appearance, you can determine that a problem has appeared in the human body. For example, this is evidenced by changes in the shape, color and structure of the organ. For example, with alcoholic cirrhosis, the color becomes not uniform, but with numerous light inclusions. External changes will also help the doctor give the patient an accurate diagnosis.

Video: Nutrition and special exercises to prevent illnesses

Each person independently, without the help of medical specialists, can suspect liver problems.

For general idea about the condition of the liver, you just need to be more attentive to your well-being and appearance.

All this can be done at home.

What are the first signs of liver disease?

Before you have your liver checked by a doctor, pay attention to some things at home: characteristic symptoms. The most common complaints with pathology of the liver and bile ducts are:

feeling of heaviness and fullness, pain in upper sections belly;
bitterness in the mouth, loss of appetite, nausea;
jaundice, change in color of urine and stool, itching skin;
vomiting blood, black stools;
nosebleeds, bruises on the skin, hemorrhages in the oral mucosa;
increased fatigue, weakness, insomnia, irritability, depression;
a sharp increase or decrease in body weight;
increase in body temperature.

Painful sensations

Pain is the most striking subjective sensation of the patient. With inflammation of the liver (hepatitis), pain is localized on the right under the costal arch. They are aching or bursting, worsen after an error in diet and are relieved by heat.

Bleeding and fever

Bruising and hemorrhages under the skin and mucous membranes occur due to a violation of the synthesis in the liver of proteins involved in stopping bleeding.

In the absence of special treatment for diseases, bloody vomiting may occur from venous plexuses esophagus and stomach, black feces.

The increase in temperature is explained by the body's reaction to inflammation and a decrease in the neutralizing function of the liver.

What features of a person’s lifestyle may suggest liver disease?

Liver dysfunction can occur for a number of reasons:

eating fried and fatty foods, alcohol;
taking medications;
starvation;
contact with patients with infectious jaundice;
mushroom poisoning;
previous malaria, typhoid fever, giardiasis;
occupational hazards.

How does a person’s appearance change with liver disease?

Diseases of the hepatobiliary system are more often observed in people with increased body weight.

The most common signs of liver damage that appear on the skin:

spider veins;
jaundice;
scratching;
bruises and hemorrhagic rashes.

IN yellow the skin becomes colored due to the increased content of pigments in the blood, in particular bilirubin. In this case, the sclera of the eyes also turns yellow (true jaundice). The skin may turn yellow when healthy liver, when eating yellow foods (false jaundice), while the sclera remains white. The color of the skin with jaundice may differ depending on the course and location of the disease.

With lesions of the liver itself, the skin and sclera become orange-red; with diseases of the biliary tract, the color varies from greenish to brownish-bronze.

With chronic lesions, spider veins appear. They are located on the face, upper limbs, torso. Due to a disorder in cholesterol metabolism, xanthomas are formed on the skin of the eyelids and in the corners of the eyes - round yellowish spots that rise above the skin. With hepatitis, cirrhosis, cholelithiasis (GSD), in which there is stagnation of bile, people experience unbearable itching skin. As a result of this, scratching appears.

With cirrhosis of the liver, boys and girls acquire signs of sexual and physical underdevelopment. In men they begin to increase mammary glands. The palms become covered with reddish spots, and the nails become covered with white dots.

At chronic hepatitis Lips often swell and turn red, and jams appear. With the development of liver failure, a sweetish “liver smell” is detected. The gums begin to bleed, the tongue becomes “crimson”, and the hard palate becomes jaundiced.

With liver disease, an enlarged abdomen may occur. The reason for this may be flatulence, fat deposits, ascites. With ascites, the abdomen is enlarged in a standing position, and when lying down, it is flattened and spread to the sides (like a frog). Ascites causes tension and thinning of the skin of the abdomen. With cirrhosis of the liver, this symptom is often accompanied by weight loss in the arms and upper half of the body.

What can be revealed by palpating the liver?

U healthy person the lower edge of the liver is completely covered by the ribs. At inflammatory diseases, cirrhosis, tumors, the size of the liver increases significantly, and it can be felt much lower.

With inflammation, thickening and compaction of the organ occurs, with cirrhosis - sharpening, pain is noted in both cases.

With tumors, echinococcosis and cirrhosis, the contours become uneven and lumpy.

How to have your liver checked by a doctor?

For a more detailed examination and correct diagnosis, you need to consult a specialist doctor. Your primary care physician deals with health issues. If necessary surgical treatment he will refer you to a surgeon, and in the case of an infectious liver lesion, to an infectious disease specialist.

Functional tests

The liver is involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and microelements, neutralizes and removes various chemical substances, secretes enzymes. You can check this or that liver function using special functional tests.

For analysis carbohydrate metabolism use a galactose loading test. The method is based on the fact that a diseased liver is unable to normalize blood sugar levels.

With pathology, the normal protein composition of the blood may be disrupted. Protein metabolism disorders are detected using thymol or sublimate tests. More accurately, protein fractions of blood can be studied by electrophoresis.

At serious illnesses hypocholesterolemia occurs (decreased cholesterol in the blood). Enzyme activity is determined using a biochemical blood test. In liver diseases, the activity of AST and ALT, LDH 5, GGTP, and alkaline phosphatase increases.

The most specific enzyme is ornithine carbamoyltransferase, which is found only in the liver. Pseudocholinesterase activity decreases.

With a healthy liver, the urine is straw-yellow and the stool is brown. With pigment metabolism disorders, the urine darkens and the feces become light gray. With pathology, the amount of bilirubin in the blood increases significantly (more than 20.52 µmol/l).

At acute inflammation liver, the iron content in the blood increases, and in case of cholelithiasis - copper.

Using ultrasound, you can check the size and structure of the liver and bile ducts, determine the presence of stones, evaluate motor function ducts and gallbladder, measure the portal vein.

In a healthy person, the liver has a homogeneous medium-grained structure, there are no additional inclusions in the lumen of the ducts, and the vessels are not changed.

With hepatitis, the structure becomes heterogeneous, echogenicity and vascular pattern change.

Liver cirrhosis is characterized by organ enlargement, heterogeneous structure, increased echogenicity, and dilation of the portal vein. With cholelithiasis, stones of various sizes can be found in the lumen of the bladder or ducts.

Inflammation of the bile ducts and bladder on ultrasound appears in the form of thickening and compaction of the walls, the appearance of a double contour.

Additional findings may include cysts and angiomas.

A correctly performed duodenal intubation technique allows one to judge the condition of the biliary tract with sufficient accuracy.

The procedure is carried out on an empty stomach, using a thin probe with an olive-shaped thickening at the end.

An experienced doctor, thanks to the microscopic features of the cellular composition of bile, can accurately determine the location of the lesion.

Alternative research methods

TO additional methods Studies that can be used to check the liver include MRI and X-ray CT with or without contrast. They allow you to answer the same questions as ultrasound, but with greater accuracy.

These methods are expensive, the study takes more time, and more skills are required from a medical specialist to interpret the results obtained. Therefore, they are used according to strict indications.

If the results of the above research methods are questionable, exceptional cases, laparoscopy is used. Using a laparoscope, you can examine the surface of the liver and gallbladder, and, if necessary, take a piece of the organ for microscopic examination.

Liver cleansing with monastery syrup

By using monastery syrup 1 tablespoon 2 times a day for 1 month, you can restore the liver and protect it from exposure harmful factors. Liver cleanse unlike others known methods, occurs without excessive bile formation.

The syrup allows you to restore the structure of liver cells and normal composition bile, improve antitoxic and excretory function hepatocytes, normalize lipid and protein metabolism.

With regular use of monastery syrup, it is minimized harmful effects to the liver medicines And alcoholic drinks. A large set of herbs and ginseng root extract compensate for the deficiency of vitamins and microelements. All of the above properties allow you to use this remedy for the prevention and treatment of many pathological conditions liver.

You can check your liver and suspect problems yourself at home. However, for a more accurate examination, diagnosis, and most importantly, appropriate treatment, you need to consult a doctor.

Why does liver enlargement occur?
Symptoms of liver enlargement
Diet for liver enlargement
Treatment for enlarged liver

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If a person begins to notice an enlarged liver, symptoms and treatment can only be checked and prescribed by a specialist.

Why does liver enlargement occur?

Liver enlargement is not a disease. This a clear sign that there is a problem related to liver function. Medical term this is defined as hepatomegaly, meaning that the organ cannot do its job normally. If hepatomegaly is not cured in time, then its progression can develop to fatal disease as liver failure. To understand that the liver is enlarged, it is important to visit a doctor for a physical examination.

To find out possible reasons It is required to check the human body by taking tests:

The patient will undergo an ultrasound or tomography. These methods are used to assess how enlarged the liver is and to identify general condition sick.
It is mandatory to conduct magnetic resonance imaging, which can provide data on the condition of the bile ducts.
Donating blood for analysis. This is required for research, confirmation or refutation of viruses.
A biopsy to help identify the presence cancer cells or fatty disease.

Liver enlargement can occur for the following reasons:

the presence of an increased number of fat cells in the liver - fatty hepatosis;
presence of hepatitis;
cirrhosis of the liver;
diseases transmitted by inheritance and associated with metabolic disorders;
signs of heart failure;
possible neoplasms in the form of a cyst, benign and malignant tumor;
harm from strong toxins: alcohol or damage from drugs.

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Symptoms of liver enlargement

Symptoms of liver enlargement can be determined independently at home if the following factors are present:

discomfort associated with a feeling of heaviness;
manifestation of ailments in the form of nausea, heartburn, belching with an unpleasant odor and taste;
change in skin color, hepatomegaly is characterized by jaundice;
behavioral disorders characterized by nervousness, tearfulness, drowsiness or, conversely, insomnia.

There are many reasons for changes in the liver, and the above factors may turn out to be other disorders in the body.

Therefore, to identify the exact ones, you need to seek help and advice from a specialist.

Correctly prescribed treatment will help avoid complications.

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Diet for liver enlargement

Hepatomegaly must be accompanied by proper and balanced nutrition. The patient should exclude from the diet foods that can irritate the enlarged liver. It is strictly not recommended to consume spicy, salty and fatty foods. Every day you need to include foods containing protein, fiber, as well as the necessary set of vitamins and minerals in your diet.

In order not to burden an unhealthy body, you will need to use fractional nutrition in small portions. The number of meals per day should be 6-7 times. It is advisable to steam or bake food in the oven.

The well-coordinated functioning of the whole organism depends on the full functioning of the liver. This organ influences the endocrine and digestive system, participates in metabolic processes and in the production of bile, filters harmful substances entering the body from the air and with food.

Few people think that gas pollution, contaminated water and heavy feasts load the liver with a shock dose of toxins. This may lead to serious illnesses glands. But you can find out whether your liver is healthy at home.

How to find out about liver health without visiting a doctor and taking tests?

You can suspect problems with your liver:

According to the symptoms of complaints.
By appearance.
By way of life.
Using express strips to determine the content of liver enzymes.

Test strips are impregnated with a substance that reacts to the content of liver components in the urine - bilirubin and urobilinogen. The presence of bilirubin in the urine may approximately indicate the development of hepatitis or autoimmune diseases liver. A positive reaction to urobilinogen means intoxication, hepatitis, oncology or simple constipation.

This test cannot determine what and to what extent the gland is affected, but it will reliably indicate that not all is well with the organ. To clarify the severity of liver damage, you will have to visit a specialist.

For reference! Test strips can detect up to ten urine parameters. They can be purchased at any pharmacy.

First signs of illness

The liver does not announce its malaise for a long time. Often the main symptoms become noticeable already with significant damage to the liver tissue, when the disease has already entered chronic stage and the gland stopped coping with its functions.

Pain in the liver area

Pain is the main reason why patients no longer put off visiting a specialist. But, as a rule, time is lost. The liver does not have nerve endings, and the pain signal is sent to other organs that have suffered from destructive processes in the liver cells.

Typically, pain and a feeling of heaviness are felt in the right side, in the hypochondrium, and are aggravated by physical activity or fatty foods. It can radiate to the back, right collarbone or arm, come in attacks or whine disgustingly.

Bleeding

Impaired liver function affects the composition of the blood, which leads to a decrease in its coagulability and capillary fragility, which causes bruising and bleeding. Heavy bleeding from the nose, stomach or esophagus, most dangerous symptom, which indicates deep liver damage and can be fatal.

Fever

As a result of inflammatory processes and intoxication of the body, the temperature rises to 39 degrees and a fever begins.

It is also necessary to pay attention to the following symptoms:

Frequent attacks of nausea, accompanied by vomiting, sometimes bloody.
Unpleasant bitterness in the mouth.
Urine becomes very dark color, A feces become light beige.
Sleep disturbance, nervousness, loss of strength.
Crash female cycle and sexual dysfunction in men.

Important! The appearance of black stool indicates internal bleeding. Medical assistance is urgently required.

Appearance of a person with a diseased and healthy liver

To detect liver problems, you can check for the following signs:

Frequent rashes and allergic reactions.
A large number of bruises on the body.
The appearance of red spots on the palms.
The skin and mucous membranes are yellow.
Excessive hair loss.
Swollen belly.
Swelling of the limbs, bags under the eyes.
Thick white or yellow plaque on the tongue.
Grayish complexion.
Dark spots under the armpits.
Pigment spots and increased sweating.

Yellowness of the whites of the eyes and skin, as well as red spots (liver spots) on the palms reliably indicate a violation of the outflow of bile and that the liver urgently needs help. An enlarged abdomen may be a sign of ascites. Bruises appear due to low blood clotting and capillary fragility, and the effect of bile on nerve endings causes allergies, itching and pimples.

How does lifestyle affect the organ?

Features of the usual lifestyle also test the liver's strength. Abuse of the following actions can negatively affect the health of the gland:

Love for crispy crusts and dishes with a high fat content.
Frequent use of hot spices.
Consumption of mushrooms collected along the roads or purchased secondhand.
Passion for drinks containing alcohol.
Low-calorie diets or overeating habits.
Self-medication with pharmaceutical drugs.
Working with chemicals and toxic substances.
Promiscuous sex life.
Piercings and tattoos made in dubious establishments.

All this can lead to significant malfunction of the organ and even irreversible destruction of liver tissue.

How to properly palpate the liver?

The liver is located in the upper right part of the abdomen and in a healthy state is completely covered by the ribs. If it is necessary to independently determine the change in its size, palpate the right, largest part of the liver and only its lower edge.

It is necessary to take a horizontal position. Thumb right hand place on the bottom rib, parallel to it. Place the remaining fingers of the right hand on the ribs from the back. It turns out to be like hugging the side.

During take a deep breath place the fingers of the left hand under the lower right rib at the level of the nipple and, pressing, palpate the lower edge of the liver.

At normal sizes the liver fingers will feel only the very edge, it should be soft and thin, or nothing at all.

With an enlarged liver, a significantly protruding edge can be easily felt, often hard and with an uneven, bumpy border. Pain may be felt in the gallbladder, which will make palpation difficult.

Important! The inflamed liver has a thick and dense edge. Oncology and cirrhosis of the organ are recognized by a painful, pointed edge with bumps.

If you discover symptoms of liver disease or factors that can cause a malfunction of the organ, you need to visit a therapist, hepatologist or gastroenterologist for examination and diagnosis.
IN for preventive purposes It is recommended to undergo a minimum examination annually. It is enough to take a biochemical blood test once a year.
Liver health can be maintained by changing your diet and avoiding bad habits. Avoid smoked, spicy, fatty foods and alcoholic drinks.
Protect yourself from sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections.
Use protective equipment when working with toxic substances.
And remember that the liver is capable of self-healing and timely detection of the disease early stages will allow you to heal the organ without serious consequences.

What tests should I take?

If your lifestyle does not cause concern and alarming symptoms not detected, for self-soothing and prevention It is advisable to take a general and biochemical blood test once a year. Such studies will indicate possible inflammatory processes in the body, determine the concentration of liver enzymes in the blood and help detect liver dysfunction in the early stages.

If you discover symptoms of gland damage, first of all you need to immediately contact a therapist, hepatologist or gastroenterologist. The doctor will prescribe necessary tests. This may be blood biochemistry, Thymol test, ultrasonography. If necessary, CT, MRI and laparoscopy are prescribed. The final and most accurate study is a liver tissue biopsy.

Your own doctor

You can detect signs of liver problems without visiting a doctor and even without tests. But some symptoms are not specific only to gland diseases and may indicate damage to other organs or simply a lack of good rest or vitamins.

Therefore, you should not start cleansing the liver or taking popular hepatoprotectors on your own if you notice hair loss, insomnia or nausea. There may be other reasons for such symptoms, for example, stress, stomach disease or pregnancy, and self-medication of non-existent liver problems can lead to real and more serious consequences. First of all, you need to tell a specialist about your suspicions.

Only a specialist can determine what pain in the right hypochondrium means and whether it is the liver that hurts. Often patients, claiming that they suffer from, do not even know where it is located, and during examination they are diagnosed with diseases neighboring organs. Finding out how the liver hurts is useful for everyone, since in the human body the work of this organ in terms of irreplaceability and constancy can only be compared with the heart muscle.

Why is the liver needed and where is it located?

The liver in humans is an unpaired multifunctional organ; it is classified as parenchymal, which means there is no cavity inside, completely filled with tissues and cells. It is not for nothing that it is called a “biochemical factory”.

It is here that a lot of substances necessary to maintain health are synthesized (proteins, vitamins, hormones, blood clotting and anti-clotting agents, immune defense). This is an organ that supplies energy for cell life, a blood depot. At the same time, it processes waste, rids the body of toxic substances, and participates in digestion.

The location can be defined as right top corner abdominal cavity. The front is covered with ribs. The most top point located at the level of the fifth rib. The lower edge usually protrudes slightly from the right hypochondrium. The left lobe of the liver goes into the epigastric zone and is located above the stomach.

It has pits on the back surface into which the upper pole fits tightly. right kidney and the head of the pancreas. The bottom edge covers gallbladder with ducts and bend duodenum.

To find out exactly where the liver hurts, it is necessary to find out on which side the pain begins, where it spreads, its nature, and accompanying symptoms.

Anatomical structures located in the liver area, due to their pathology or functional failure, give pain in the general area

Mechanism of pain syndrome

Inside the liver there are liver cells (hepatocytes), blood vessels, and bile ducts. The entire structure is divided into segments. They lack nerve endings. And yet, in the question “can the liver hurt,” doctors are sure that it can, but the pain is formed not in the parenchyma of the organ, but in the nerve receptors of the Glissonian capsule surrounding it.

To do this, the organ must increase in size (swelling, blood overflow, inflammation, neoplasm) and stretch the capsule. The intensity of the pain directly depends on the strength of the tension. Liver pain may be associated with external pressure on the capsule and peritoneum from the side of the enlarged “neighbors”.

Another option is to go inflammatory reaction on the adjacent layers of the peritoneum (perihepatitis), very rich in nerve endings. The causes of pain in the liver area can be associated with pathology of the organ itself or surrounding ones; a distinction is made between functional and organic.

What causes pain in the liver?

Causes of pain in the liver of a functional nature, unlike organic ones, are relieved after the cessation of the irritating factor, rest, normalization of nutrition or sedative procedures. These include:

alcohol intoxication with a single dose of alcohol-containing drinks;
physical overexertion;
stressful state;
overeating fatty, meat foods;
uncontrolled use of medications.

TO organic reasons All diseases of the liver parenchyma can be attributed. They disrupt the structure of hepatocytes, cause necrosis and replacement with a non-functioning one. connective tissue. Why the liver hurts in a particular person can be found out only after a thorough examination. More details features and the course of the disease we will consider below.

Characteristics of pain

Pain in the liver area has different “colors”; patients describe it with an emotional connotation, which emphasizes the duration of a person’s suffering.

Aching and nagging pain

If the patient indicates that he “aches in the hypochondrium on the right,” it should be understood that the process has chronic course, often launched. Functional pain is not aching. Usually, the feeling of heaviness after eating and physical activity or for no reason.

Drawing dull pain spreads upward and into the back (neck, shoulder blade, shoulder). Intensifies with excitement and bending. Accompanied by nausea, bloating, belching, and unstable stools. The appearance of yellowness of the sclera and skin suggests the transition of the disease to acute stage, perhaps without a sufficiently pronounced intensity of pain. Patients develop weakness and itchy skin.

The blood supply to the liver completely depends on the state of the general blood flow; the cells suffer from hypoxia and venous stagnation

Dull pain

Dull pain is most similar to the pathology of the hepatobiliary system. The fibrous capsule stretches over the entire surface, so the pain is not clearly localized. It is possible to differentiate the disease through examination.

Other symptoms should be taken into account at the same time. For example, with neoplasms, dull pain accompanies weight loss, signs of liver failure, and is expressed already in late stage diseases.

Intense pain

About High Intensity pain syndrome they say the definitions of “strong” and “ sharp pain" Increased pain after a period of “soreness” is associated with a growing tumor, cyst,. It is necessary to pay attention to the nature of the temperature (rapid rise with chills and a sharp decline with abscess formation), loss of appetite, stool disorders, moderate jaundice of the sclera.

Hepatitis does not cause severe pain. It is associated with an attack of gallstone disease. It occurs suddenly, is localized in the middle of the right hypochondrium, and is accompanied by vomiting. Irradiates to the interscapular region, to the right collarbone, shoulder, and lower abdomen. Lasts up to a day, subsides gradually.

Similar pains are caused by: rupture of a liver cyst, an attack of pancreatitis, renal colic on the right, appendicitis in women during pregnancy.

Pulsating pain

The wave-like pulsation corresponds to the heart rate. This can be understood by placing one hand on the hypochondrium and the other on the pulse. Possible with heart defects (tricuspid insufficiency or aortic valves). When the liver is enlarged, it can be seen by muscle vibrations.

A rare pathology - hepatic artery aneurysm is also accompanied by throbbing pain. Stagnation in circulatory failure is caused by adhesive pericarditis and mitral stenosis.

Overflow of blood into the central veins leads to increased pressure in the portal system and oxygen starvation hepatocytes. The liver enlarges significantly, necrosis occurs in the center of the lobules, and is replaced by connective tissue (cardiac cirrhosis). Patients complain of severe heaviness and nausea. Yellowness and cyanosis of the skin are combined.

Sharp pain

Sharp pain in the liver area is not a sign of liver tissue damage. This is inherent acute cholecystitis. The pain radiates to the right and up into the neck, lower jaw, spatula. It occurs suddenly and is accompanied by chills, fever, and vomiting. An attack of biliary colic is provoked by shaking, physical activity, and poor diet.

If the stone moves along a narrowed duct, acute pain is caused without fever and vomiting

Additional symptoms of pain

If the liver hurts, then there are always symptoms indicating a malfunction of the parenchyma, digestive disorders, and metabolic processes. Most often, the pain intensifies after eating fatty foods, alcohol, running, or physical activity.

Signs of liver pain may include:

irritability, weakness, apathy;
belching with a rotten smell;
itchy skin;
nausea;
yellowing of the sclera and skin;
dark urine;
gray feces;
head and muscle pain(in the back and legs);
spider veins (telangiectasia) on the face, abdomen, shoulders, chest;
tendency to bleeding gums;
In men, the complaint of sexual weakness comes first, and in women - of infertility.

The main danger of liver disease is mild symptoms. Patients consult a doctor at the stage of irreversible changes (fatty degeneration, cirrhosis). In chronic cases, there may be no pain at all.

It is necessary to take into account which symptoms are associated with secondary pathology of neighboring organs and make a diagnosis based on them. This is done by qualified doctors. And patients should be guided when pain in the liver area requires a quick call to the ambulance.

Urgent medical attention is needed if:

It is not possible to relieve pain with home remedies;
vomiting with bile appeared;
pain in the hypochondrium on the right is cutting in nature and arose suddenly;
noticeable yellowing of the sclera and skin;
the temperature increased significantly.

What are the functional causes of pain?

Functional dysfunction is possible due to aggravating factors; a person may not even realize that the liver is hurting.

Alcohol intoxication

Even a single intake of a significant amount of alcohol causes severe intoxication. For pain in the hypochondrium on the right, the morning after drinking, the liver performs the task of processing ethyl alcohol and she suffers:

with the help of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, it breaks down into low-toxic substances;
some hepatocytes are exposed to toxic effects and are unable to work;
additional load is caused by snacks with abundant fatty meat foods, spicy dishes;
reception medicines for headaches and relieving hangovers, it is harmful to the organ.

In such cases, hepatoprotectors are offered to treat pain in the liver; they promote cell restoration

The effect of increased physical activity

Often when trying to do physical exercise, running, long walking, people complain that “it hurts under the ribs on the right.” This becomes a reason to refuse classes. Long absence physical activity leads to detraining of the body.

When running, an increased volume of venous blood accumulates in the liver. Those people who are not used to breathing correctly suffer especially. Their diaphragm does not contribute to pumping blood from the venous bed. An acute increase in size overstretches the capsule, so the person feels pain.

To overcome the symptom and continue exercising, it is recommended:

a short rest, then the pain will disappear on its own;
consider a gradual increase in load and breathing technique;
do not eat 2 hours before training.

In case of drug overdose

Uncontrolled reception medicines, especially antibiotics (from the group of macrolides, penicillins, cephalosporins), sedatives and stimulants nervous system, leads to the accumulation of toxic substances in the liver. Decay products are excreted from the body with bile. At the same time, they manage to disrupt the viscosity of bile in a thicker direction, causing stagnation and impaired outflow.

In old age, normal dosages of medications can become toxic

Toxic effect can cause individual intolerance, the presence of a disease that a person is not aware of. Pain, bloating, jaundice, and itchy skin appear. In practice, the symptoms can be regarded as acute drug-induced hepatitis. A week is enough for its formation.

This condition should be treated by stopping all medications and using hepatoprotectors. A positive result appears quickly. Organic lesions liver diseases can be of an inflammatory or other nature. We will look at some of them.

Pain due to hepatitis (acute and chronic)

Inflammation of the liver that lasts up to six months is considered acute hepatitis. Infectious disease doctors are involved in identifying and treating acute viral hepatitis. Hepatitis A - begins as respiratory disease with fever, headaches, weakness.

Aching pain in the liver occurs after 3 weeks. Instead, there may be a feeling of heaviness and bloating. Jaundice appears on days 2–4. Against this background, the patient’s condition improves. All signs gradually disappear, the person recovers.

Hepatitis B - lasts up to two months. The pain syndrome increases gradually from aching character to a dull feeling of heaviness. It begins with an increase in temperature, general weakness, and lethargy. Characterized by liver enlargement and signs of jaundice.

For hepatitis D - typical symptoms no, it accompanies hepatitis B and is easier to tolerate. Hepatitis E - different, except for signs of intoxication, severe pain in the liver area and above the navel. Sometimes the disease begins with pain. An infectious disease doctor prescribes treatment depending on the form.

Viral hepatitis B and C are known to become chronic. What can be done to prevent unwanted transformation does not always depend on the wishes of the patient and the doctor. Pain in the right hypochondrium is constant, and in some cases it intensifies only when the diet is violated and ingestion of fatty foods.

Localization is imprecise: patients report pain either in the epigastrium or in the navel area. Nausea and vomiting, flatulence, a feeling of discomfort are possible, all the symptoms of hepatitis appear. The reason is confirmed by biochemical blood tests, urine tests, identification of markers, and ultrasound. If necessary, computed tomography is performed.

The most unfavorable option is when the disease is asymptomatic and is detected already at the stage of liver cirrhosis.

You can find out more about what to do if you have pain in the liver and how to treat diseases.

Liver cirrhosis and pain

Liver cirrhosis is a disease that disrupts the structure and function of the liver parenchyma. The disease is irreversible: areas of liver tissue are replaced by scars. Progression leads to hepatic-renal failure.

Replacement with scar tissue occurs gradually, instead of lobules dense bumps are formed

Dull pain in the liver is constant. There are several types of cirrhosis:

alcoholic - caused chronic alcoholism;
viral - the result of chronic viral hepatitis;
medicinal - with the toxic effects of drugs;
primary biliary - caused by a pathology of hereditary type;
congestive - with heart failure.

Against the background of pain, other signs appear: a moderate increase in temperature, severe weakness, weight loss, abdominal enlargement (ascites) with fluid effusion from the vessels into the abdominal cavity, jaundice and itching of the skin, dilation of the superficial umbilical veins, brain intoxication with mental changes. A biopsy confirms the diagnosis and allows you to determine the degree of loss of liver function. Treatment requires hemodialysis and organ transplantation.

Pain due to steatosis

The disease is caused metabolic disorders, as a result of which hepatocytes are filled with fatty inclusions and destroy normal structure fabrics. Steatosis is more often observed in chronic alcoholics, obese people, and in cases of metabolic disorders ( diabetes). Pain in the liver accompanies the activation of the process and is dull in nature. They can be easily removed by normalizing your diet and giving up alcohol.

Liver neoplasms

At benign nature tumors (adenomas, nodular hyperplasia, hemangiomas, cysts) begin to cause pain in case of significant growth, compression of the parenchyma and stretching of the capsule from the inside. The type of pain is aching, constant. Nausea and vomiting are possible.

Liver cancer is also accompanied by long-term aching pain, but at the same time the patient has a high temperature, no appetite, increasing weakness, and a constantly bloated stomach. The liver is enlarged, palpation increases pain.

If the liver hurts in a person who has undergone surgery for various malignant tumors, then metastases can be suspected with a high probability. Similar pains always caused by the terminal stage of cancer of other organs (stomach, intestines, breast, esophagus, lungs, brain, pancreas).

Most often, cancer of the stomach, colon, lungs, and esophagus metastasizes to the liver. The pain is constant, aggravated by fever, weight loss, weakness, nausea, and ascites. There is no pain during metastasis of a malignant tumor of the prostate gland, larynx, ovary, uterus, kidney and Bladder.

The diagnosis is made on the basis of ultrasound, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, and biopsy examination.

Cancer treatment is surgical only, the scope of the operation is selected individually for each patient, the complex includes chemotherapy and irradiation of the liver area

Pain in the area under the liver

Sensations in diseases of the subhepatic organs are very similar to pain in the liver. These include:

attack of appendicitis;
right-sided renal colic;
ectopic pregnancy and adnexitis in women;
cholecystitis;
intestinal diseases (Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, helminthic infestation).

There are many diseases and lesions that are treated by different specialists. The examination should begin by contacting a therapist. Delay threatens the loss of the opportunity for recovery.