Sober Resources

Alcoholics and liver disease are almost guaranteed to meet one another eventually. The alcoholic is sure to suffer from one of the three types of liver disease, if not all three, at some point if they are not killed by other problems that alcoholics face. Liver disease is not anything to joke over, and it is a killer. Many people every single year die from liver disease brought on by alcohol. Here is a brief overview of the three types of liver disease commonly seen in alcoholics.

Fatty liver, or steatosis, is when fat accumulates in the liver due to drinking. This fat is gathered in the cells of the liver. This is also seen in patients who do not drink. Usually those patients are overweight. Fatty liver is one of the few problems that can be reversed if the alcoholic stops drinking. If they do not, it will ultimately cause inflammation of the liver and scarring in most alcoholics.

Hepatitis is also a common problem for alcoholics that have liver problems. The variables with hepatitis are many, and can range from a chronic hepatitis to an acute hepatitis. Each of these present different symptoms and sometimes no symptoms at all until it is in the advanced stages. Some alcoholics will experience hepatitis that causes jaundice or yellowing of the skin, neurological problems, fluid accumulation, blood clotting, and death from this dangerous liver disease. This can be reversed with time spent not drinking, though it takes much longer to recover from than fatty liver. Still, alcoholics may still have scarring of the liver, cirrhosis, and ultimately liver failure in extreme cases.

Cirrhosis is the be all end all of alcoholic liver disease. This is a very serious condition that can lead to full scale liver disease and failure. It is also common among alcoholics that have a chronic liver condition that is complicated by drinking. Alcoholics that suffer from cirrhosis of the liver will often have jaundice, blood problems, and all the major signs of liver failure can follow. It is common for alcoholics to have all three problems of the liver once cirrhosis is present.

While each of these liver problems that are brought on by drinking are very serious, dangerous conditions, they are also not a death sentence to a recovering alcoholic. Many times they can be reversed altogether. The liver is a very durable organ that will begin to heal given the chance. It is very important that an alcoholic put down the drinking immediately once they are informed of liver problems. Continued drinking are almost certainly going to lead to more liver problems, and can ultimately end in death to those that persist.