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11 Early Warning Signs and Symptoms of Fatty Liver Disease

Many of you must be curious about signs and symptoms of fatty liver disease. Fatty liver is one of the common health issues nowadays, and when the liver asks for help, you mustn’t ignore it. The liver is 2nd largest organ of the human body and is responsible for various body functions and detoxification that assures your health and wellness. 

The liver functioning is very important so is the healthy liver. The liver secretes the bile process and maintains amino acids. It generates albumin produces metabolism, and filters blood by flushing all impurities, and this process can make it suffer a lot. 

There are two types of liver diseases called NAFLD or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and AFLD alcoholic fatty liver disease. And excess fat and toxins in the liver can cause inflammation and liver damage, and your body generates such warning signs of the fatty liver so let’s check out what are they:-  

In This Article

  1. Warning Signs of Fatty Liver Disease
  2. How to Prevent Fatty Liver Disease
  3. Red flag signs of a fatty liver disease

Warning Signs of Fatty Liver Disease

Signs and Symptoms of Fatty Liver Disease

1. Fatigue

The liver is responsible for maintaining the energy level and metabolism level and stores body energy to use whenever needed. If your liver becomes fatty or damaged, the process gets interrupted, and you always feel exhausted. 

You may feel fatigued even after sleeping well and without doing any hard work. Though, fatigue can trigger you by other causes too.  

2. Pain or Soreness in the Right Upper Position of the Abdomen

The liver diseases include fatty liver, hepatitis adding hepatitis A, B, and C, liver cancer, and liver abscess. All these ailments can cause pain or soreness in the right upper position of the abdomen, the exact place of the liver. 

Hepatitis is a chronic and serious infection that can damage liver cells and cause liver failure. Other hepatitis signs contain fever, headache, loss of appetite, and joint pain.   

3. Weakness

As we said before, the liver has to perform numerous major functions in the body, and when the process gets disturbed, you may feel weakness in the whole body. 

According to a study, 25% of people face liver dysfunction and scarring known as cirrhosis. Maybe the symptoms can be slow in the early stage, but most people feel chronic fatigue and weakness due to fatty liver.   

4. Loss of Weight

Sudden weight loss can occur due to various conditions and fatty liver if one of them. Severe weight loss can also be a sign of liver damage. The whole body and immune system get busy to fix the trouble, and lack of appetite makes you malnourished and causes loss of weight that you mustn’t ignore.   

5. Loss of Appetite

Lack of appetite is included in the early symptoms of liver damage and fatty liver. When all the toxins cannot get out from your body and affect the liver and circulate in the blood, you feel the loss of appetite.  

6. Jaundice

Jaundice is the signs of severe fatty liver disease. The increment of liver toxins can be turned out in jaundice. Too many toxins a damaged liver release a component known as bilirubin that is yellowish. it spreads rapidly in the organs, blood vessels, which results in yellow skin tones and yellow nails and eyes. 

Even nonalcoholic fatty liver can also cause jaundice. You feel excess tiredness and weakness. One can easily detect liver damage signs by checking the nails, eyes, and pale skin colour.   

7. Changes in Skin Colour

The liver damage directly affects the metabolism level in the body that can cause organ damage that is responsible for changing skin colour. It may appear darker or much paler than normal. 

The increased iron mixed with the sweat glands and makes your skin colour looks dark, and this is not a good sign, and you must consult an expert as soon as possible.   

8. Swelling in the Leg

In the case of cirrhosis or liver damage or fatty liver can cause swelling in the legs and feet. You may not see a symptom of swelling in the early stage. If it remains for a long time, the blood circulation in the legs through the spleen gets affected and becomes a reason for fluid accumulation in the legs and feet and causes swelling in the feet and abdomen.   

9. Nose Bleeding

Nose bleeding is often considered a normal issue, and if you feel constant nose bleeding, you must be aware that the fatty liver can cause nose bleeding. When the liver gets damaged, it becomes unable to generate platelets that help in blood clotting. 

The fatty liver results easily bruising, nose bleeding, and gums problems, and you must ask for a doctor’s help.  

10. The Build-up of Fluid in the Abdomen

The condition is also known as ascites, when too much fluid starts building in the abdomen due to cirrhosis or scarring in the liver. When the liver tries to stop the inflammation, but liver cells cannot fix the damage, and scar continuously affects the liver, it causes fluid buildup in the abdomen. 

You may also feel dark urine colour due to dysfunctional liver.   

11. Skin Rash and Itching

If your skin is not much sense and you notice constant skin itching and rashes on the skin and the satiation gets worse in the night, especially on the hands, feet, palms, and legs, it can be a prior symptom of fatty liver and liver damage. 

When the liver can’t flush out the toxins from the body, these toxins stay in the body, and our feet and hands are the tips of blood circulation, so they get affected easily, and you can have rashes and itching that can irritate you badly.  

Be sure to read: Signs and Symptoms of High Liver Enzymes

How to Prevent Fatty Liver Disease

  • Avoid processed foods and junk foods that are loaded with carbs and have no nutritional value. 
  • Avoid red meat and processed meat and also avoid caffeine items. 
  • Eat more grains, veggies, legumes, and fresh fruits. 
  • Drink plenty of water and have fresh fruit juices and add lemon water that works as a natural detoxifier for the body. 
  • Various home remedies can help to treat fatty liver that you can DIY without having any medicines. 

Red flag signs of a fatty liver disease

As fatty liver disease worsens, there are a few red flags of fatty liver signs, and if you or someone you know is experiencing any of them, it’s important to seek medical attention right away. These signs include:

  1. Feeling bloated or having weight gain that is not typical for your weight and height
  2. Feeling tired or having a lack of energy
  3. Jaundiced (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes)
  4. Having trouble sleeping or experiencing frequent headaches
  5. Experiencing chest pain or shortness of breath
  6. Developing diabetes or high blood pressure
  7. Experiencing unusual mood swings or feeling anxious or irritable

In Closing

When the liver, which is the important organ’s tone, shouts for help and is aware of you by such indications, you must listen carefully as this is not a joke. 

Changing the diet chart and routine and adding some healthy ideas can help you naturally, so you must take care of the liver as it takes care of your whole body.

So, friends, we hope that signs and symptoms of fatty liver disease will surely help you.. Please share your reviews and queries with us and stay connected with us for more information.  

Trusted sources

  1. Recent advances in understanding and managing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease[1]
  2. Definition & Facts of NAFLD & NASH[2]
  3. Fatty Liver Disease (Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis)[3]
  4. Relationship between Diet and Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Review Article[4]
  5. Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)-American liver foundation[5]
  6. Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis: Pathogenesis and Clinical Management[6]
  7. Weight loss is the key to combating fatty liver[7]

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Dr Maria

MD. Board Certified physician. Fellowship In Family Medicine UK. 8 years of medical experience in Lifestyle-related health disorders. Graduated from AIIMS – All India Institute Of Medical Science, INDIA

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