- 8-year-old Mr. Li (pseudonym) developed symptoms of abdominal distension and pain and loss of appetite about three months ago. At first, he thought he was suffering from a stomach disease and did not pay enough attention to it and did not go to the hospital for examination.
- Mental aspect: Very tired and weak;
- Nervous aspect: Insomnia, dreaminess , drowsiness, and restless sleep;
- Gastrointestinal symptoms: loss of appetite, dry mouth and bitter mouth, nausea, and abdominal distension;
- Local symptoms: discomfort in the liver area , dry eyes, clubbed fingers , yellow urine, etc.
But as time went on, Mr. Li's physical discomfort became more and more serious, reaching an unbearable level. He then went to the hospital for a checkup, which revealed he was diagnosed with end-stage liver cirrhosis and primary massive liver cancer.
It turns out that Mr. Li has had the bad habit of smoking and drinking for many years. He smokes almost two packs of cigarettes every day and drinks half a catty of liquor. After drinking every night, he basically stays up until about 1 am before going to bed.
None of Mr. Li's bad habits such as smoking, drinking, and staying up late were left , and these bad habits will lead to an increase in the incidence of liver cancer . When
was diagnosed, Mr. Li's condition was already very serious and he could only undergo liver transplant surgery. During the operation, the liver removed by Mr. Li weighed 11 pounds and was more than 30 centimeters in diameter. The size of the liver is much larger than that of ordinary people. Even the surgeon was shocked when he saw it. Fortunately, the operation was very successful.
Picture source: Guangzhou Health Commission
1. Liver cancer in the early stage is not painful or itchy
The liver is an important detoxification organ in the body. It has more than 500 functions and can help the body with metabolism, detoxification and digestion.
The protein, sugar and fat consumed by the human body need to be metabolized by the liver and converted into the energy needed by the human body;
Drugs, alcohol and other waste products that enter the body also need to be detoxified by the liver;
In addition, the liver can also produce bile acids and secrete bile, thereby promoting the digestion and absorption of food .
In addition to these important functions, the liver also has a strong compensatory ability. As long as 30% of the liver function is left, it can maintain the normal operation of the body, and there are often no obvious abnormal symptoms at this time.
Because the liver is a "dumb" organ without pain-sensing nerves, once pain occurs in the liver area, it is often caused by serious damage to the liver that affects surrounding tissues and the outer membrane of the liver. Although the liver is very powerful, it can also be "injured".
2. If you eat incorrectly, your liver will suffer.
Liver health is very important to everyone, but some bad eating habits in life are likely to cause continued damage to your liver, and may even evolve into cancer .
Big fish and big meat : Modern people’s living conditions are generally better, and many people like to eat big fish and big meat. However, long-term intake of high-fat and high-calorie foods can easily cause the liver to be overburdened, cause functional damage, and increase the risk of fatty liver and hepatitis.
Greedy for Alcohol : Alcohol is listed by WHO as a class I carcinogen, that is, a substance with clear carcinogenic effects.
The main component of alcohol is ethanol. During the metabolism of ethanol, it will produce a large amount of inflammatory substances and oxides . These substances will stimulate liver cells and easily lead to fibrosis of liver cells, followed by irreversible liver damage. damage. Induces alcoholic liver , liver cirrhosis , and even the occurrence of liver cancer.
Only eat vegetarian food : Most of the daily staple foods of vegetarians are rice and noodles with high carbohydrates. A large amount of carbohydrates cannot be converted into glycogen and will be converted into fat in the liver.
In addition, because you don’t eat meat, your body cannot absorb enough protein, and the liver cannot synthesize fat into lipoprotein . A large amount of fat accumulates in the liver, which can easily induce fatty liver.
Half-cooked food : Some people like to eat raw food. Undercooked food may contain parasites. Ingestion may induce liver fluke disease and liver hydatid disease , leading to liver damage.
Taking drugs indiscriminately: No matter what drugs you take, you need to take them under the guidance of a professional doctor. Blind use of drugs may induce liver damage, especially some antibiotics, drugs for treating heart disease, and traditional Chinese medicines, which require special attention.
3. The appearance of several abnormalities may indicate the onset of liver cancer
Before the liver collapses, it will actually send some "distress signals" to the body, but many people will ignore these signals, causing the liver function to continue to deteriorate.
When liver function is damaged, the human body will experience a series of abnormal manifestations.
Deputy Chief Physician of the Pain Department of Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical UniversityYue Jianning said that when liver health "shows a red light", you should be alert to three skin abnormalities.
Spider nevus : A red nevus body appears on the surface of the skin. There will be a circle of small capillary dilation around the nevus body. The nevus body will turn white when it is squeezed by external force, but it will reappear after the pressure disappears;
Liver Palm : Due to the failure of normal inactivation of estrogen in the body, resulting in abnormal capillary expansion and congestion, the palms will have patches of spots and plaques, and appear abnormally red.
Jaundice: Due to abnormal liver function, bilirubin in the body cannot be secreted normally. A large amount of bilirubin travels to various parts of the body with the blood flow, causing abnormal yellowing of the skin and sclera.
The occurrence of liver cancer has a certain "favored group". It is recommended that hepatitis B patients, patients with cirrhosis, and people with a family history of liver cancer undergo abdominal B-ultrasound and alpha-fetoprotein screening every six months.
People over 40 years old and those who have been drinking alcohol for a long time can extend the inspection interval to once a year. If abnormalities are found, then conduct the above inspection.
In daily life, you must pay more attention to the symptoms of the body, and seek medical treatment promptly when abnormalities occur. Do not delay. Delaying the best time for treatment is a sign of being very irresponsible to your health! #HealthTruthPlan#
Reference:
[1] "A 25-year-old woman in Shenzhen was diagnosed with liver cancer after often working overtime all night!" The harm of staying up late is greater than imagined...". China Medical Tribune 2020-10-28
[2] "National Liver Love Day丨My "liver" is not moving...". Life Times 2022-03-18
[ 3] "The Whole Process of Liver Injury". CCTV News 2021-07-29
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