Your Liver and You, Protecting Yourself from Hepatitis
August 16th, 2013The liver serves many functions in the body including filtering toxins out of the body, producing clotting factors (you need these to help stop bleeding after cuts and scrapes), and making enzymes needed for digestion. Hepatitis is a term for inflammation of the liver. Your liver can become inflamed for a variety of reasons including alcohol, acetaminophen, bacteria, and viruses.
The CDC has recommended that all people born between 1945 and 1965 be tested for Hepatitis C because 1 in 5 people who have Hep C are unaware that they have the disease. Many times, people do not have symptoms until they have severe liver failure. Hep C is one of the most common reasons for people needing a liver transplant. It is unclear what risk factors these people had that led them to acquire the deadly virus, but the good news is that there have been some advances in treatment in recent years. If diagnosed and treated early, the disease has a lower chance of causing liver failure.
If you plan to travel to a developing country for business or pleasure, be sure to get your Hepatitis A and B vaccines. These are commonly transmitted from unsanitary conditions during food preparation. If you complete the series once (2 shots for Hep A and 3 shots for Hep B), you do not need them again for subsequent trips. You should notify your primary care provider soon after planning the trip as many vaccines take up to a month to become effective.
Moderation of alcohol is also very important. I recommend no more than 1 alcoholic drink for women, or 2 drinks for men per day. This is about the maximum capacity for the liver to process alcohol.
Medications such as acetaminophen are well known for causing liver damage. If you have no pre-existing liver issues, you should make sure that you take no more than 4 grams of acetaminophen-containing products in 24 hours. If you have a liver disease such as hepatitis, you should take no more than 2 grams in 24 hours. Be careful with “combination medications” for colds. These will often include some acetaminophen, and if you take additional acetaminophen tablets with them you could easily reach toxic doses.
If you are on a “statin”, which are a class of cholesterol-lowering medications, you must have your liver function checked at least every six months. Certain herbal medications such as red yeast rice have also been shown to cause liver damage. Be sure to inform your health care provider of all medications as you may need liver function tests.
The liver is a remarkable organ, with an amazing ability to regenerate. The ancient Greeks believed Prometheus was punished by the Gods by chaining him to a rock and having his liver eaten by an eagle each day. However, at night his liver would grow back and be eaten again the next morning. It’s amazing that they had this insight over 2 thousand years ago.
