According to the John Hopkins Medicine Health Library, cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases are common causes of death in the U.S. It also states that, on average, 31,000 people in the U.S. die each year from cirrhosis. So it’s imperative for people to look for signs of liver damage.
In many cases, we damage our liver because of our lifestyle choices. Whether it’s constantly consuming large amounts of alcohol, smoking cigarettes or overeating unhealthy food, you’re putting extra stress on your liver. If your liver is overstressed, it won’t be able to break down fats and produce energy, so you’ll end up fatigued.
Below you will find the most common signs of liver damage, and if you’re experiencing any of them, you might want to see a doctor and consider changing some of your habits.
Abdominal Aches: According to Bruce Bacon, a professor of internal medicine and chair of gastroenterology at the St. Louis University School of Medicine, one common sign of liver damage is abdominal aches. Bacon says you’ll feel swelling or pain in the right upper quadrant of your abdomen. The reason it’ll be the right side is that the fat end of the liver is on the right side.
