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Alcoholic Cirrhosis Symptoms

Alcoholic liver cirrhosis is a non-reversible disease that can be fatal. It generally occurs in about 10 to 15 percent of alcoholics. The disease can appear after about 10 years of heavy drinking. Heavy drinking is defined as having five or more alcoholic drinks daily in men and two or more in women. Women are more susceptible to the disease than men because they are less tolerant of alcohol. Medication can help slow the disease, but there is no cure.

  1. Early Stages

    • People suffering from alcoholic cirrhosis may not exhibit any symptoms in the early stages. Some suffers may feel weakness, nausea, weight loss, fatigue, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, itching, bloating or have spider-like blood vessels appear on the skin.

    Lesions

    • In about one-third of alcoholic cirrhosis cases, spider vessels, or spider angiomata, appear---vascular lesions become prominent on the skin due to an increase in sex hormones. Altered sex hormone metabolism, due to heavy drinking, may also cause speckled mottling of the palms.

    Changes on Abdomen

    • Progression of the disease causes the spleen to enlarge and collect fluid in the abdomen and legs. The spider-like blood vessels spear on the shoulders and chest. Bruises begin to appear. Men lose their chest hair and grow breasts; their testicles can shrink. Women may have irregular menstruation.

    The Fingers

    • Common symptoms can be found on the fingers in at least of one-third of all cirrhosis sufferers. Symptoms include the absence of the white crescent at the base of the finger nail with the look of ground glass across the nail. (These symptoms can also be caused by hepatitis, malnutrition and congestive heart failure.) Another symptom of cirrhosis is the softening of the nail bed and an increased convex shape of the nail.

    Liver

    • The liver can be shrunken, enlarged or normal during the early stages and may display not outward symptoms. The spleen also may be enlarged. The liver cleans the toxins in the body but when it has trouble functioning, it may not properly discharge fluids, which can build up in the liver. Medications can help process the toxins.

    Complications

    • As alcoholic cirrhosis progresses, complications may set in, including bleeding, itching and hepatic encephalopathy in which the liver does not clear ammonia. Liver cancer can also ensue, which is often fatal. Infections become more frequent as cirrhosis causes the immune system to progressively fail.

    Mental Health

    • As the liver has more difficulty filtering toxins from the body, mental functions begin to deteriorate. Patients become more forgetful, have difficulty concentrating, experience personality changes, and neglect their appearance.

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