- What functions of the liver provide care for the skin?
- How does the appearance of a person with liver pathology change?
- Types of skin changes
- How does hyperpigmentation manifest?
- What skin diseases provoke liver damage?
- Why does itching appear?
- At what diseases of the liver there are changes on the skin?
- How to cure?
- Related Videos
Doctors of dermatologists and cosmetologists, when referring patients about unclear skin rashes, begin the examination with questions and tests that characterize the work of the liver. It is known that many of the chronic diseases of this organ last for a long time secretly. People may not know about pathology, and skin changes are associated with age, infection, hormonal fluctuations.
Eruptions on the skin with liver disease are a sign of cell damage to hepatocytes, their initial functional failure. But external manifestations can be associated with the liver indirectly, as failure and overload in work contribute to reducing protective forces and often provoke other diseases.
What functions of the liver provide care for the skin?
The work of the liver can be compared with a non-stop factory to synthesize vital materials, neutralize toxic substances that have entered the body, participate in digestion, and extract energy for existence. All together is called internal metabolism or metabolism.
As a result of complex biochemical processes, the body maintains the necessary level of immunity, the concentration of vitamins, some hormones( genital, adrenal, thyroid).It provides growth and adaptation to various life situations.
Skin is also involved in the protection and removal of toxins with sweat. But for the functioning of the skin cells must get from the liver energy, building material( proteins), collagen to provide elasticity and turgor, vitamins A, E, C to remove hydroxyl residues and combat aging.
In the liver, a depot of water- and fat-soluble vitamins of group B, PP, D, K, microelements( copper, iron, cobalt) is created. In the absence of them in food, thanks to these stocks, the body can safely maintain itself for a while.
Vascular spiders are formed by clogging the blood out of the capillaries
Nutrients and oxygen enter the vessels. Their patency is maintained with the help of a coagulating and anticoagulating system of blood, which receive components from the liver. A wall structure is dependent on the ratio of fractions of lipoproteins, cholesterol and triglycerides. Pastoznost, puffiness of the skin, hemorrhagic rashes, bruises indicate a violation of this process.
It is important to remember that toxic substances are not only alcohol, drugs or obviously substandard and poisonous products. They are constantly formed in the process of metabolism in the decay of proteins, phenolic compounds, acetone. Only due to good detoxification in the liver, we do not feel them.
The production of antibodies, immunoglobulins and other components of the immunity system allows to protect the skin from infection with external agents, to limit the infected infection by local inflammatory reaction.
The decontamination of bilirubin by binding it with glucuronic acid creates a healthy skin and mucous membranes. Disrupted work of the liver cells is accompanied by external disorders. Therefore, the condition of the skin, nails and hair doctor may suspect functional insufficiency or liver pathology.
How does the appearance of a person with liver pathology change?
An attentive doctor always assesses the patient's unhealthy appearance in the search for symptoms of various diseases. Attempts of women with the help of cosmetics to hide stains on the face for a short time soothe patients, but do not destroy other skin manifestations.
A sign of a sick liver in males and females is a tired look, dry thinned skin with a grayish hue. Through the surface layers, the vessels are enlarged, the enlarged venous network. There are places with peeling, especially on elbows, knees. Hair thin, drop out, on clothes traces of dandruff.
A person with liver disease looks older than his biological age. This is confirmed by deep wrinkles, the deposition of cholesterol on the eyelids( xantelasm), the violation of pigmentation with the appearance of brown spots on the hands, face, other parts of the body.
In addition, patients have an increased sweating with a sharp unpleasant odor. On the legs, puffiness is located in the ankles, shins. It can be detected by pressing your finger on the skin.
Types of skin changes
Diseases of the liver are manifested in different ways:
- blunt-flushing pains in the hypochondrium to the right or a feeling of heaviness;
- with heartburn, eructation;
- diarrhea;
- by changing the color of urine to a darker, clarified stool;
- temperature increase.
Large spots should be differentiated with deprive
Changes occur in the skin in the latent period, when other symptoms can only be detected by laboratory means. In some patients, suspicious symptoms are already detected in a chronic, neglected stage. At others - at an overload of a liver against a background of sharp poisoning, reception of alcohol, abuse of fat and fried meat dishes.
The most characteristic changes are:
- Redness of the palmar surface( palmar erythema).If you press, the redness disappears, then restores to the previous shade.
- Vascular "spiders" or "stars" are formed on the face, nose, chest, shoulder girdle. They are formed by subcutaneous congestive capillaries due to impairment of outflow and small thrombi.
- Red dots throughout the body are called angiomas. They are small tumors from the vascular wall. Their development is stimulated by a metabolic disorder.
- The tongue and mucosa of the mouth, the lips turn red, the cyanosis is less often added.
- Bruises on different parts of the body arise due to violations in the coagulation system, increased permeability of the walls of the vessels. They can be of different size and shape. Sometimes patients can see small-point hemorrhage on the skin like a urticaria, sclera called "injected."
- White spots( vitiligo) on the skin of the face, back, hands are considered a symptom of impaired pigmentation.
- Increased dryness, scaling of the surface layer.
- In the lower part of the abdomen, on the hips and buttocks of both men and women, stretch marks( striae) are found.
Fine itchy rash in open places - is most often detected with liver pathology
How does hyperpigmentation manifest?
Hyperpigmentation in liver diseases is manifested by spots on the skin of different sizes and localization. Skin coloring is determined by a special pigment melanin. It is contained in the cells of the epidermis( surface layer).Accumulation is provided by special skin cells - melanophores, which have the ability to absorb ultraviolet and infrared rays, in such a way to protect the body from overheating.
Synthesis of this substance occurs in skin cells( melanocytes) from the amino acid tyrosine. A special enzyme of the liver - tyrosinase - provides and controls this reaction. Pigmentary metabolism in hepatocytes is affected by the endocrine system, neuropsychic disorders, heredity.
Metabolic disorders in the hepatic cells occur under the influence of pathology or physiological actions. So, the gray-brown spots on the body appear with excessive sunburn, in pregnant women. The most frequent localization of pigment spots is the area of the face( forehead, cheeks), chest and hands. The color varies from gray to brown.
Spots can be like large freckles. Hepatic chloasma differs in rounded irregular shape, dark brown color, disposition on the face. Melasma is called symmetrical brown spots on the face, shoulders, neck. Most often occur in pregnant women, as well as under the influence of hormonal contraceptives.
The ingestion of a high content of another pigment, bilirubin, causes a general icterus of the skin. It starts to show up with a yellowing sclera. Endocrine insufficiency refers to brown staining of the skin in the groin area and in the armpits.
It is not advisable to get rid of such spots yourself
What skin diseases provoke liver damage?
The impaired function of the hepatic cells reduces the production of protective antibodies and immunoglobulins. In such conditions, the skin can not "repel an attack" of infectious agents. Dryness creates comfortable conditions for penetration into the deep layers.
Acne - more often located on the temples, nose, in the forehead. Small pustules - furuncles are always in the area of the hair sac and spread inside. Localize on the hands, feet, chest. They can merge to considerable sizes with a purulent middle, edematous shaft, soreness.
Allergic manifestations - dermatitis with red spots, plaques, small rash in the form of hives are accompanied by severe itching, fever. Psoriasis - the etiology of the disease is not completely established, but there is a version that it is provoked by bile acids that enter the bloodstream.
It is shown by merging pink spots, covered with gray thin scales. The disease seriously complicates the hepatic pathology, affects the joints of the limbs and spine.
Eczema - more often it looks like bright, wet stains placed symmetrically on the body, covered with crusts and scaly. Patients with liver disease have a tendency to fungal lesions( mycosis).They develop in the surface layers, affect the nails and hair, mucous membranes, skin folds.
Why does itching appear?
Skin itching with liver pathology worries the patient more than the pain syndrome. He exhausts, does not allow to fall asleep. A person combs different parts of the body. On the skin there are scratches, which quickly become infected and inflamed. Itching is not removed with antihistamines, is significantly enhanced when jaundice occurs.
Itching of the skin - one of the bright symptoms of liver pathology
The causes of itching are combined effects:
- stagnation of bile, blockage of ducts;
- increased concentrations of bile acids in the blood;
- toxic and toxic substances not rendered harmless by the liver.
At what diseases of the liver there are changes on the skin?
Liver diseases are different for a reason. All of them lead first to the functional inferiority of hepatocytes, then destroy the organ and replace it with scar tissue.
- The inflammatory pathology includes: viral and toxic hepatitis, lesions in tuberculosis and syphilis, abscesses, autoimmune diseases.
- Metabolic disorders are characterized by: alcoholic and non-alcoholic steatohepatosis( fatty degeneration), alcoholic liver disease.
- Consequences of blunt injuries with damage to the abdomen, ruptures, stab wounds, crushing injuries from gunshot wounds.
- Diseases of large vessels: thrombosis of the hepatic veins, pylephlebitis( portal portal festering), portal hypertension with cirrhosis, fistulas and arteriovenous fistulas.
- Pathology of the bile ducts: stagnation of intrahepatic, acute and chronic purulent cholangitis, formation of concrements from salts, congenital dilatation of ducts inside the liver with increased stone formation and small abscesses in the parenchyma.
- Tumor processes: with cyst, hemangioma, hepatic-cellular and intra-cellular cancer, sarcoma, metastases.
- Parasitic diseases with localization of the focus in the liver are caused by: alveococcus, echinococcus, ascarids, opisthorchiasis, leptospirosis.
- Hereditary anomalies: complete absence or underdevelopment of the organ, narrowing of ducts, fermentopathy with disturbance of different types of metabolism.
In addition, differential diagnosis always takes into account the possibility of secondary liver damage caused by changes in other organs. Therefore, signs of stagnation in heart failure, amyloidosis, blood diseases, renal and hepatic insufficiency in diseases of urinary organs are excluded.
How to cure?
Treatment of skin manifestations is part of a comprehensive therapy aimed at combating the main damaging factor, protecting and supporting unchanged areas of the hepatic parenchyma. The use of cosmetic procedures against the background of active disease does not give results.
To prevent serious consequences, patients are offered a strict diet with refusal of alcohol, smoking, fatty and spicy dishes, fried cooking, smoked sausages, meat, fish. Advantage in nutrition is given to vegetables and fruits, cereals, dairy products, low-fat boiled meat and fish dishes.
Anti-inflammatory therapy is prescribed - antiviral drugs for viral hepatitis, antibacterial or antifungal in other pathogens, specific agents for tuberculosis, parasitic invasion, immunomodulators and corticosteroids in the case of an autoimmune process.
The photo shows a large boil that may need to be opened surgically.
The long-term use of hepatoprotectors, vitamins, herbal decoctions is justified to improve the outflow of bile. In the inactive stage of the disease, you can consult with a cosmetologist about the possibility of eliminating the vascular "stars" and pigment spots on the face. It is not recommended to solve this problem independently.
Skin manifestations should always be regarded as a signal about the poor metabolism. The liver is the main culprit. But she suffers more often because of a person's inattentive attitude toward his body.
