Liver damage, or liver disease as it’s also referred, is commonly caused by obesity, an undiagnosed hepatitis infection and alcohol misuse. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to a condition called alcohol-relate cirrhosis and serious complications can occur. But what counts as excessive drinking and what’s the recommended number of units of alcohol that should be consumed in a day?
Liver disease that’s been caused by excess alcohol intake has several stages of severity. There are three main stages – alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis. Cirrhosis can eventually lead to liver failure, where your liver stops working, which can be fatal. It usually takes years for the condition to reach this stage, but there are a number of symptoms to watch out for to indicate this has happened – there are two you should be wary of when you go to the toilet.
Dark urine and pale-coloured stools or very dark/black tarry stools are two indicators of severe liver damage, according to the British Liver Trust. These usually suggest the liver is struggling to function. In general, the more alcohol you drink and the longer you drink it for, the more likely you are to get liver damage. But what is classed as an excessive amount of alcohol to drink?
Bupa advises that if you drink around seven to eight units of alcohol a day, you’re almost certain to develop fatty liver disease – this is when fat builds up in the cells that make up your liver. Fatty liver disease is considered the first of three stages of liver damage caused by alcohol.
The health organisation advises: “The best way to reduce your chance of getting alcohol related cirrhosis is to limit the amount of alcohol you drink, or not drink at all. “Not drinking alcohol can also prevent cirrhosis progressing if you already have it.
“Sensible drinking means staying within recommended limits. In the UK, guidelines recommend that you should not regularly drink more than 14 units over the course of a week.
“If you do drink as much as 14 units, you should spread it over three days or more, rather than ‘saving up’ units.”
Typically, a single small shot of spirits is one unit, a small glass of wine is 1.5 units, and a pint of lower-strength beer is two units. It recommends that an easy way to cut back on your intake is to have several drink-free days each week.Symptoms may not be apparent in the early stages of cirrhosis, but as your liver becomes more damaged, four may emerge.
The NHS says you may begin to feel very tired and weak, feel nauseous, lose your appetite, and lose your sex drive.
When the condition gets worse, other symptoms that can develop alongside dark urine and tarry stools are yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (known as jaundice), vomiting blood, itchy skin, and dark, tarry-looking poo.
A tendency to bleed or bruise easily and swollen legs or tummy from a build-up of fluid can also be indicators.
If you think you have any of the symptoms of cirrhosis you should see your GP.
Liver disease can also be caused by a build-up of fat in the liver. This is known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
NAFLD usually doesn’t have any symptoms in the early stages, but in the more advanced stages of the disease, four signs may begin to show.