Chronic Liver Disease

Ayurveda believes it is a condition due to the imbalance of all the three Doshas (Kapha, Pitta and Vata) in Ayurvedic medicine. But mostly we see people with chronic liver disease who are underweight or overweight. Most of them have thick blood which is one of the reasons for this issue. So right away when you think about it, it's Kapha that has aggravated mainly because of irregular eating habits, drinking alcohol, snacking etc which aggravates kapha dosha. This is what primarily Ayurveda would say. What does modern science say? There is no doubt that alcohol can cause cirrhosis, but only 0–5% cases have been found to be caused by alcohol consumption. I would say that it has been proved that Ayurveda is more scientific than the modern medicine.

How do you classify chronic liver disease?

There are two kinds of Chronic Liver diseases – one is Alcoholic hepatitis and other Non alcoholic hepatic fibrosis. Alcoholic hepatitis is when the liver gets damaged due to excessive use of alcohol and non alcoholic hepatic fibrosis (NASH) happens when someone with diabetes, hypertension or obesity develops this condition without any known cause as well. But most cases we see have an underlying cause for the aggravation of kapha dosha like late nights out with friends, eating outside food etc. You can also have a genetic issue in this case because many times we see that the children of a person with liver disease also end up getting it.

What is the treatment for chronic liver disease in Ayurveda?

The main thing we like to tell people who have this issue (and also my patients) is to take medicines under supervision from an experienced ayurvedic doctor. It's better not to go with spontaneous treatments because there are much more stronger herbs and medicines available than what you can purchase over-the-counter places or online stores. Secondly, we deal with all three dosha – Kapha, pitta and Vata and try to bring them back into balance. So some natural supplements will help you do that as well.

Generally, Chronic liver diseases affect over 100 millions of people worldwide. And it is the main cause of death in Asian countries including China. In recent years the number of chronic liver disease patients has been increased dramatically due to super-aging society and the living style change (eating fatty foods and drinking alcohol will likely lead to more serious fatty liver). The patients with chronic liver problems may experience fatigue, itchy skin, abdominal pain or discomfort, jaundice eyes etc. Besides, there are many cases that even need hospitalization for severe symptoms.( ref 1 )

What causes the chronic liver disease?

The major damage factors causing the development of chronic liver disease can be divided into three major categories: Viral hepatitis (such HAV and HCV), metabolic (such as fatty liver), and environment factors such as drug, alcohol. etc.( ref 2 )

What are the symptoms of chronic liver disease?

The following are the common symptoms of chronic liver disease:

• Jaundice eyes (also known as icterus)
• Fatigue
• Itchy skin and hair loss
• Recurrent fever or night sweating without obvious reasons
• Itchy and swollen lymph nodes behind the ears, under the chin, in groin or armpit regions etc.
• Abdominal pain or discomfort especially after eating fatty foods; sometimes it can be so severe that for some period of time patients cannot eat at all.
• Jaundice eyes (also known as icterus) Fatigue Itchy skin and hair loss Recurrent fever or night sweating without obvious reasons Itchy and swollen lymph nodes behind the ears, under the chin, in groin or armpit regions etc.
• Patients with liver cancer may experience severe pain, fever, itching and burning sensations or even jaundice eyes. In case of jaundice eye symptoms, it is necessary to go to the hospital for further checkup as soon as possible.