Alcoholic Hepatitis Treatment

Alcoholic hepatitis is caused by the breakdown of ethanol in alcoholic beverages to highly toxic chemicals. These chemicals destroy liver cells and cause inflammation that damages the liver.

Symptoms

• Patients with mild cases of the disease usually have symptoms most commonly associated with a severe cold or the flu such as fever, loss of appetite, nausea, general fatigue and abdominal pain. Lab tests indicate whether a patient with those symptoms has alcoholic hepatitis. Jaundice (or the yellowing of the skin), mental confusion and abdominal swelling can accompany the other symptoms in the more severe cases of the disease.

Mild Treatments

• Lifestyle changes, including reducing alcohol use, have been effective treatments against the milder symptoms of the disease. Nutritionists recommend therapies, such as a high-calorie nutrient-dense dietary plan, to help restore healthy liver function.

Agressive Treatments

• Patients with substantial liver damage require much more aggressive treatment to prevent the disease form progressing. Doctors prescribe hormones and tumor suppressors to reduce inflammation and promote prevent the growth of dead tissue. If the liver is too severely damaged, however, then a liver transplant may be the only suitable treatment.

Prevention

• Doctors recommend abstinence from alcohol as the only completely effective treatment of the disease. By not drinking, you can reverse minor damage to the liver and prevent the disease from progressing.

Considerations

• Many sufferers of the disease cannot fully commit to abstaining from alcohol due to dependency. These alcohol-dependent individuals should contact a counseling service in their area to help them manage their treatment of the disease.