Early warning symptom of alcohol-related liver disease only shows up at night
Alcohol-related liver disease, or ARLD for short, is triggered by excess alcohol consumption, as its name suggests.
There are three main stages of this condition, with an early symptom showing up when you go to sleep. After temperatures soared in the 30s recently, you might have been struggling to sleep. While everyone can have a rough night every now and then, persistent sleeping issues could be pointing to an underlying health condition.
In fact, The British Liver Trust warns that trouble sleeping, or insomnia, is one of the “early” symptoms of alcohol-related liver disease, reports the Express. The charity explains that while the early stages of ARLD don’t usually cause many symptoms, insomnia might still occur “early” on.
The NHS shares that trouble sleeping occurs once you start experiencing a build-up of toxins in your brain. While insomnia is considered an early symptom, the health service notes that this could be pointing to an “advanced” form of liver damage as well.
“As the liver becomes more severely damaged, more obvious and serious symptoms can develop,” it states. The health body urges to “see your GP as soon as possible” if you experience this sleep problem. If you leave the condition untreated, your liver will sustain more damage, triggering more serious symptoms.
What’s worse, alcohol-related liver disease doesn’t always have to cause symptoms. "If you misuse alcohol, you may have liver damage, even though you have none of the symptoms above,” the NHS warns. That’s why the health service recommends letting your doctor know if you regularly drink alcohol to excess.
What causes alcohol-related liver damage?
The liver is considered to be one of the most complex organs in your body. Being able to filter out toxins, regulate cholesterol and helping to fight infection, the organ has various functions.
While it’s really good at is regeneration, being able to develop new cells after some of its cells die each time you drink alcohol, but regularly drinking to excess can trigger permanent problems. “Prolonged alcohol misuse (drinking too much) over many years can reduce its ability to regenerate,” the NHS states.
What’s worse, ARLD has become quite common in the UK, with the number of patients rising over the last decade. Although the most effective way of preventing ARLD is to stop drinking, the NHS reminds to at least stick below the recommended levels. Men and women shouldn’t regularly drink more than 14 units a week.
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