Liver failure symptoms are often very easy to detect. They may also be reversed or treated if they are noticed soon enough. Symptoms may include nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue, and diarrhea. If these symptoms are allowed to persist without any course of treatment more serious symptoms such as Jaundice, bleeding more easily, a swollen and distorted abdomen, mental disorientation, coma and excessive sleepiness may develop.

Jaundice is perhaps the easiest of all the chronic liver failure symptoms and acute liver failure sings to detect. This is because Jaundice physically changes the appearance of the body by causing a distinct yellowish tint to develop on the skin and the whites of the eyes. Jaundice is a sign that the liver is unable to excrete bilirubin, the yellow breakdown product of heme catabolism from the body.

People with symptoms of liver failure may also bleed and bruise more than is normal. This is due to a reduced plaetelet count in the blood, causing a thinning of the blood, and making it more difficult to coagulate. Thus, a person with a failing liver will bleed much more freely and easily and bruise much more excessively than is normal.

The stomachs of those with liver failure often begin to protrude abnormally. This is due to a large amount of fluid accumulating in the abdomnial cavity. This condition is called Ascites, and it causes great discomfort in patients suffering from liver failure.

Those with liver function who experience a reduced ability to think, remember, or understand generally have a large build up of toxins in the body. These toxins interfere with the patient’s normal mental processes and can be extremely damaging.

If these serious symptoms go unattended for too long, end stage liver failure will develop. Acute liver failure signs may include seizures, the inability to speak, and the failure of other major organs. These symptoms could quite possibly result in death.

This is why it is so important to seek liver failure treatment. Sometimes, the complications of liver failure can be reversed with certain prescription medication. If lany of these symptoms have been caused by an overdose of acetaminophen or by a virus, this condition can usually be easily remedied by a visit to the hospital and intensive supportive care. Those symptoms that have been left unattended, however, are much harder to treat. Usually, the only course of action is a liver transplant or saving whatever parts of the liver are still functioning. Luckily, liver transplants are now common procedures and have a fairly low mortality risk.

Liver failure may also be prevented. Since liver failure is often caused by cirrhosis or hepatitis, individuals should get a hepatitis vaccine or a immunoglobulin shot. A nutritious, well balanced diet, alcohol in moderation, proper hygiene, safe sex, and not sharing needles or personal products can help to prevent liver failure symptoms and liver failure itself from ever occuring.