Fatty liver disease (FLD)/ Hepatic Steatosis | All You Need to Know!

Symptoms

There are no specific symptoms to fatty liver disease. Patients can have symptoms of excessive alcohol consumption, which almost inevitably will lead to fatty liver disease including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or neurological symptoms. However, severe fatty liver disease can present by:

• Abdominal discomfort: Abdominal pain has many causes, but causes related to the liver usually produce pain in the right upper abdomen.
• Generalized weakness: The liver’s function of removing toxins in the blood can be impaired causing the accumulation of harmful substances in the body causing generalized weakness and loss of energy.
• Nausea and vomiting: Any abdominal pain can cause nausea and stomach upset, but liver disease is one of the most common. It is usually related to meals since they put an excessive load on the liver.
• Jaundice: Some people with fatty liver disease can develop jaundice whether due to severe liver affection or from obstruction of the gall bladder by a stone which usually occurs in patients who have high fatty diets.
• Symptoms of advanced liver disease: Finally, if liver disease is advanced enough, a full-blown picture of liver disease can manifest including hepatic encephalopathy with loss of consciousness and sleeping abnormalities, severe jaundice, abdominal distension, and ascites, and bloody vomiting. Kidney failure can also occur in some cases.