Swollen Liver Symptoms

Swollen Liver Symptoms Are Often "Invisible"

Swollen liver symptoms may be caused by a variety of liver diseases and conditions. If swollen liver symptoms are left untreated, the underlying problem is likely to progress, and could even cause serious - if not fatal - liver damage. 

The medical term for a swollen liver is hepatomegaly. It is also often called enlarged liver.

This page briefly describes swollen liver symptoms for readers with no professional medical training or experience. If you recognize any of the swollen liver symptoms discussed here, be sure to talk about them with your doctor. Remember, many diseases and disorders have symptoms that are similar, so your doctor alone is qualified to make a diagnosis. For more information on causes of a swollen liver, click on swollen liver.

Swollen liver symptoms

It's sad but true that swollen liver symptoms rarely appear before some damage has been done to the liver. Sometimes the damage can be so great that liver function is no longer possible, and a condition known as liver failure occurs. Once this happens, the only way to save the patient's life is a liver transplant.

The following swollen liver symptoms are likely to start appearing once a significant amount of liver damage has already taken place.

• a full feeling, possibly with discomfort in the stomach and abdominal areas that may be mistaken for gas or bloating
• lack of interest in eating and a lower-than-normal appetite,
• painful in muscle and joints
• persistent coughing although there are no symptoms of a cold or the flu
• bowel movement difficulties that could include either constipation diarrhea
• urine will look different, becoming dark or cloudy
• frequent fatigue and a feeling of extreme weariness
• fevers, nausea and vomiting
• a general lack of energy along with feelings of lethargy and lack of motivation 
  the eyes become unusually sensitive to bright light
• certain odors or smells that were not previously unpleasant may become offensive

Specific disorders or conditions generally occur when you have swelling in the liver and they are considered to be swollen liver symptoms.

• cholestasis - this is a condition that occurs when bile flowing from the liver is obstructed
• portal hypertension - this signifies high blood pressure in the portal vein, a large blood vessel connecting the intestines and the liver.
• ascites - this is the medical name for a build up of fluids in the peritoneal cavity in the abdomen.
• liver encephalopathy - brain function suffers because of an accumulation of toxic substances in the body that are normally removed by the liver.

Jaundice as a swollen liver symptom

Very often, jaundice (sometimes called yellow jaundice) is the only concrete sign of liver trouble. Jaundice is caused by an abnormal accumulation of a bile pigment in the blood. High levels of bilirubin cause the skin and the whites of the eyes to look yellow (thus the name yellow jaundice). Abnormal amounts of bilirubin also damage liver cells, resulting in liver enlargement.

Since swollen liver symptoms are not present in the early stages of liver disease, your doctor may need to do liver function tests to determine if your liver is swollen. Depending on the results of the liver function screening, your doctor may also want to order a liver biopsy, an ultrasound, or a CT scan. Most doctors will order liver function tests as part of a regular physical exam, which can be an important tool in detecting liver problems early when treatment is more likely to have a successful outcome.
 

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