Alcohol-Enlarged Liver Treatment

Long-term alcohol abuse can have many serious and often deadly consequences. One of these is an enlarged liver. This condition must be diagnosed by a doctor. It can be accompanied by related alcohol-induced symptoms including jaundice (yellowing of the skin), enlarged spleen, spider veins, kidney failure, elevated white blood cell count and, occasionally, fever.

Treatment for alcohol-enlarged liver begins with giving up alcohol. The liver is capable of regenerating itself, but this will not happen if the individual continues drinking.

Function

• The liver has many functions. It helps process fats and proteins from the foods we eat. It stores glycogen, which is the body's fuel. It makes blood clotting factors and bile, which helps digest fat. Most importantly, it processes and removes toxins from the body, including alcohol. In one hour, the liver can process a single unit of alcohol. Drinking more than that puts extra pressure on the liver. In the short run, the liver can handle it. In the long run, excessive alcohol consumption can cause severe liver damage.

Time Frame

• Alcohol-enlarged liver is not a condition that happens overnight. It takes years, even decades, of heavy drinking to do this kind of damage. The liver is so overwhelmed by trying to process large amounts of alcohol that it fails to process fat and related fatty chemicals. Over time, fat accumulates on the liver, causing it to be enlarged. One in four American adults has some form of fatty liver, mostly caused by diabetes, obesity or alcohol excess.

Steatohepatitis

• Steatohepatitis is a less common form of fatty liver. It is usually caused by excessive drinking. The liver is inflamed as well as enlarged. The word "hepatitis" means inflammation of the liver. This can lead to a more serious condition called cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver. Though the liver has great regenerative powers, cirrhosis is not reversible. It can lead to liver failure and death.

  Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is a similar condition that is usually caused by diabetes or obesity.

Treatment

• On its own, an enlarged liver usually is not fatal. The fatty deposits rarely progress to anything more serious. The first step to treating an alcohol-enlarged liver is to stop drinking. If the individual is overweight, the doctor may prescribe a low-calorie diet and exercise. For the most part, the liver will regenerate itself. The best thing for a patient to do is to control the factors that brought on the condition in the first place, whether it's drinking, obesity or diabetes.

Prevention/Solution

• There are several alternative treatments that are often recommended to patients with alcohol-enlarged livers. These include milk thistle, dandelion and turmeric. The effectiveness of these remedies has not been conclusively proven. In certain dosages, they can have harmful side effects including nausea, headaches and diarrhea. The best treatment for an alcohol-enlarged liver is not found in a herb shop. It's abstinence from alcohol.