Cirrhosis Treatment

Cirrhosis treatment

        Cirrhosis, in all its forms, more or less dangerous, is a life - threatening disease that is caused by the scarring of your liver cells, turning from smooth, red and filled with detoxified blood into petrified and completely useless versions of themselves. If the liver cells do not function properly anymore, your liver will stop fulfilling its functions: it will not filter the toxins out of your body (making sure they are eliminated and not returned to your bloodstream, poisoning your system) and it will not produce bile, therefore blocking your digestive system.

       There is not a single cirrhosis treatment out there, at this very moment, which can cure this disease or undo the damage done to the liver cells. The scope of any cirrhosis treatment is to prevent the damage that could occur in the liver, not to reverse the one already done. Sometimes, treatments completely stop the furthering of the destruction but most of the time, they simply slow it down.

       Cirrhosis treatments are customized to fit every and each of the sufferers, to meet their needs and to successfully alter their life style. They are comprised of a series of very strict rules by which the patient must abide his or her entire life. Modifying them or simply playing it by ear will surely lead to disaster.

       One very interesting thing about cirrhosis treatments is that they are classified into five groups, depending on what they are trying to achieve and who it depends on, the drugs or the patient:

• drugs can treat the cause of cirrhosis, if it is possible, and prevent further damage of the liver;
• you must avoid substances that could continue damaging your liver, like alcohol;
• some pharmaceutical substances can prevent and even treat the symptoms and the complications of cirrhosis;
• you must modify your diet, your lifestyle and even your way of thinking and behaving to be able to fight the disease;
• as a final resort, when your liver is completely destroyed, a transplant is something that both the patient and the drugs have some influence over, as long as the person is a suitable candidate and there is an available liver, of course.

Initial cirrhosis treatment

       If you have suffered from cirrhosis symptoms for a while now and have just paid a visit to your attending physician, you must be prepared to be diagnosed with any variation of this liver disease. The initial treatment for cirrhosis that your medical doctor should recommend is simple: stop doing whatever it is that caused the injury of your liver cells. Mainly, this applies to the certified alcoholics out there and it comes with a stern warning: end the drinking immediately and completely or everything that you do from now on will be useless.

       Also, the same batch of cirrhosis treatment can include nonprescription drugs (such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen and naproxen) and a strict low - sodium diet (to stop fluid retention, thus alleviating your ascites and the pain in your chest, abdominal cavity and joints).

       One other thing you must do in this step of the treatment is to get immunized against hepatitis A, B, influenza and pneumococcus to prevent further complications that could cost you your life.

Ongoing cirrhosis treatment

       Once the first part of the treatment is finished and your condition has been stabilized, you enter the second phase: the ongoing, life - sustaining cirrhosis treatment. It focuses on watching for, trying to prevent and treating both symptoms and arising complications. Even under duress, you must continue to:

• avoid any kind of alcohol, be it in beverages or even in chocolates;
• report all the medication you ingest, even non prescription drugs, to your attending physician;
• stay on the low - sodium diet if the fluid retention is still present, to avoid any further complications. Even if your low - sodium diet works, you might need some of the following drugs:
• diuretic medicines, such as furosemide, to eliminate the excess fluid that has accumulated into your abdominal cavity and joints;
• antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin, if you develop an infection.