Liver pruritus

This article was professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Vu Tan Phuc - Gastroenterologist - Department of Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Phu Quoc International General Hospital

Hepatic pruritus occurs when the liver's detoxification function is no longer able to clear harmful substances from the body. Hepatic pruritus can be seen in patients with pre-existing liver disease or those with an inappropriate lifestyle, accumulating many toxins in the body. Hepatic pruritus causes a lot of discomfort for the patient and needs to be treated properly.

1. What is prurigo due to liver?

Prurigo due to liver is one of the symptoms suggesting a decline in the liver's detoxification function. The liver is one of the body's essential organs, taking on many different important roles. The ability to filter and remove harmful substances from food and water is an indispensable function that the liver always ensures. However, if the human body receives too many different types of toxins, the liver may be damaged, thereby not being able to perform the necessary metabolic activities well. Toxins remaining in the body for a long time will cause clinical manifestations such as prurigo, hives. Prurigo due to liver often appears in the summer, when the weather is uncomfortable due to hot sun, the surrounding environment is polluted. In this condition, the human body often secretes a lot of sweat, the sebaceous glands are active, which is a favorable condition for the formation of many prurigo. People with liver-related pruritic papules are prone to relapse many times, greatly affecting the quality of life. If not treated promptly, the disease can silently progress over a long period of time, causing chronic liver dysfunction, and more seriously, it can lead to cirrhosis.

Cirrhosis due to impaired liver function
Cirrhosis due to impaired liver function

2. Why does liver disease cause itchy skin rash?

When you have the disease, the liver's function is no longer good, including filtering and eliminating toxins. Harmful substances accumulate in the body, gradually manifesting as abnormal clinical signs such as itchy skin rash. Some unreasonable lifestyles and diets play a role as factors that accelerate the disease process such as:

  • Using a lot of processed foods, many preservatives.
  • A diet low in fiber, lacking many vitamins and minerals.
  • Stressful work, lots of pressure.
  • Often staying up late, doing too much physical labor.
  • Abusing alcoholic beverages such as wine and beer. Alcohol is one of the leading causes of cirrhosis that has been known clinically.

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3. Manifestations of pruritus due to liver

The typical symptom of pruritus due to liver is the appearance of pimples, red rash with itching that suddenly appears on the skin. The red rash appears with clear boundaries, in the early stages it appears as tiny red rashes that later spread over a large area. In some severe cases, the red rash can spread all over the body, feel hard to the touch, and have a firm density, commonly known as hives or hives. The red patches on the skin will usually disappear after a few hours, when the body no longer feels cold. The itching symptoms in pruritus due to liver are often only dull, accompanied by a burning sensation throughout the skin areas of the body, increasing when the environmental temperature suddenly drops, such as when it rains or when it is windy. This is also a suggestive feature to help distinguish the condition of itching with rash due to liver from other dermatological diseases. In cases of pruritus due to skin diseases, the itching symptoms are often characterized by more itchy and burning skin. However, if only relying on clinical manifestations, it is not possible to determine the exact causes of prurigo. Itchy skin causes a lot of discomfort for the patient, often disappearing with the red patches.

In addition, when liver function is impaired, the patient also experiences other skin symptoms such as:

  • Fatigue, discomfort, mood changes
  • Decreased appetite, poor eating, indigestion
  • Dull pain in the right hypochondrium, sometimes spreading to the right shoulder
  • Jaundice and eyes, dark urine with or without pale stools.
  • Bleeding gums, easy bruising on the skin when bumped.
  • Symptoms help suggest the cause and assess the severity of the disease. If prurigo caused by the liver is not detected and treated promptly, it can lead to chronic liver failure, even cirrhosis. Therefore, when there are any unusual symptoms, patients need to go to medical facilities for diagnosis, find the cause and receive timely treatment advice.
Patients with jaundice and eyes
Patients with jaundice and eyes

4. Treatment of pruritic papules due to the liver

Pruritic papules due to the liver need to be treated by detoxifying the liver and supporting the improvement of the liver's ability to clear toxins. There are many simple but effective methods that any patient can easily apply at home such as:

Changing the diet: Food selection needs to be done scientifically and healthily. In particular, patients need to supplement with lots of fiber, vegetables and fruits and limit fried foods, foods high in fat or prepackaged foods with lots of preservatives. Many types of vegetables are cool and should be used a lot in people with pruritic papules due to the liver such as pennywort, ginseng, bitter melon, corn silk, mint, lotus leaves, lotus shoots, fish mint... The patient's meal should include light, easy-to-digest dishes. Supplementing enough water for the body, an average of about 1.5 to 2 liters of water per day is something that should not be ignored, especially in hot seasons.
Stay away from factors that harm the liver. Do not abuse alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine, quit smoking.
Maintain a scientific lifestyle, do not overwork. Create a balance between work and life, rest properly.
Regularly exercise, play sports regularly.
Establish a habit of going to bed on time, do not stay up late.
Use medication as directed by your doctor. For non-prescription drugs, patients need to read the instructions carefully before using. Avoid using drugs that affect liver function.
Visit a specialist on schedule to properly treat the following liver diseases. Proper treatment of liver diseases helps the liver recover its detoxification function, so the symptoms of itchy rash caused by the liver will gradually disappear.

Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital has Hepatobiliary screening services, helping doctors check the health of the liver and gallbladder through examination:

Assess the liver's ability to function through liver enzyme tests;
Assess bile function; vascular nutrition;
Early screening for liver cancer;
Perform tests such as: complete blood cell analysis, blood clotting ability, screening for hepatitis B, C;
Assess the liver and gallbladder status through ultrasound images and diseases that have the risk of causing liver disease/making liver disease worse;
In-depth analysis of parameters to assess liver and gallbladder function through tests, paraclinical; risks affecting the liver and early screening for liver and gallbladder cancer.

The examination process is always performed by a team of highly specialized doctors, combined with modern equipment. Therefore, customers can be completely assured of the assessment results at the hospital.

Liver and gallbladder examination at Vinmec is chosen by many patients
Liver and gallbladder examination at Vinmec is chosen by many patients

To arrange an appointment, please call HOTLINE or make your reservation directly HERE. You may also download the MyVinmec app to schedule appointments faster and manage your reservations more conveniently.

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