What Are the Dangerous Signs of a Bad Liver? Complexion, Itchy Skin, Ascites… Don’t Miss the SOS from the “Silent Organ”

“Lately, my body feels constantly sluggish.”

“People around me have started saying I look pale or have an earthy complexion.”

“After drinking alcohol, I feel a heavy, painful sensation in my right flank (around the liver).”

Are you experiencing such unexplained physical ailments and worrying, “Could there be something wrong with my liver?”

The liver is an important organ often called the body’s chemical factory, but because it is extremely patient, it is referred to as the “silent organ.” Because it does not show any symptoms with minor damage, it is not uncommon for the disease to have progressed significantly by the time subjective symptoms appear.

In this article, a hepatologist will explain in detail the dangerous SOS signs emitted by the liver and what you should do when they appear.

1．Why is the Liver the “Silent Organ”?

The liver is responsible for over 500 functions essential for sustaining life, including metabolism, detoxification, and bile production. To be able to perform so many tasks, the liver is an organ with extremely high “reserve capacity” and strong regenerative ability.

Furthermore, there are no nerves that feel “pain” (pain receptors) inside the liver.

Therefore, if it is just accumulating fat (fatty liver) or experiencing slight inflammation (hepatitis), no subjective symptoms will appear at all. This is the biggest reason why the discovery of liver disease tends to be delayed.

2．Don’t Miss Them! Dangerous Signs of a Bad Liver (Self-Check)

The symptoms listed below are “SOS signs” emitted when liver function has significantly declined and surpassed its limit of endurance. If even one applies to you, please consult a hepatologist immediately.

(1) Jaundice

• Symptoms: The skin and the whites of the eyes become yellowish.
• Cause: Liver function declines, causing a yellow pigment called “bilirubin,” which is normally excreted in the stool, to overflow into the blood. You also need to be careful if your urine color is dark (brownish).

(2) Changes in Complexion/Skin (Earthy Complexion, Dark Face)

• Symptoms: The complexion darkens or becomes an earthy color. The skin becomes dry and flaky.
• Cause: Due to a decline in liver function, hormonal balance is disrupted, or melanin pigment becomes more likely to deposit.

(3) Itchy Skin

• Symptoms: Unbearable, intense itching occurs all over the body, especially on the back and limbs.
• Cause: It is believed that bile acids, substances the liver could not fully process, accumulate in the skin and stimulate the nerves.

(4) Ascites and Edema (Swelling)

• Symptoms: The stomach bulges like a frog’s, and weight increases rapidly (ascites). When you press the shin of your leg with a finger, the indentation remains and does not spring back (edema).
• Cause: Liver cirrhosis progresses, and the liver can no longer produce a protein called “albumin,” causing the fluid inside the blood vessels to leak out.

(5) Abnormalities on the Palms or Chest

• Palmar erythema: The palms, especially the base of the thumb and pinky finger (the fleshy parts), become abnormally red.
• Spider angioma: Small red vascular tumors shaped like a spider with its legs spread appear on the neck, chest, or shoulders.

(6) Signs of Hepatic Encephalopathy

• Symptoms: Spacing out, dulled judgment, losing track of time or place, day-night reversal, or a flapping tremor in the hands.
• Cause: Harmful substances like ammonia, which should normally be detoxified by the liver, reach the brain and damage the nerves. This is seen when liver cirrhosis has advanced.

3．Is “Liver Pain” Real?

When you feel “my liver hurts,” strictly speaking, it is not the liver itself that is in pain. As mentioned earlier, there are no pain receptors inside the liver.

So, why does the right flank (where the liver is located) hurt or feel heavy?

Cause 1: The Liver’s “Capsule” is Stretching

The liver is enveloped in a thin membrane called “Glisson’s capsule.” When the liver swells rapidly due to acute hepatitis or fatty liver, this membrane is stretched, which is felt as pain or a sensation of pressure.

Cause 2: Issues with the Gallbladder or Bile Ducts

The “gallbladder” is located right below the liver. There is a very high possibility that the pain you are feeling is actually caused by gallstones or cholecystitis.

Cause 3: Issues with Other Organs or Muscles

In some cases, pain in the stomach, duodenum, ribs, or muscles is mistaken for “liver pain.”

In any case, “pain or discomfort in the right flank” remains a sign of an abnormality in the liver or surrounding organs. Never leave it untreated.

4．What Should You Do If These Signs Appear?

What should you do if even one of these symptoms applies to you?

There is only one answer: “Consult a hepatologist immediately.”

These symptoms are not “early symptoms” of a disease. Unfortunately, they are signs that appear in an “advanced state” where liver function has significantly declined.

Self-judgments such as “Maybe I’ll get better if I stop drinking” or “I’ll see how it goes with supplements” are the most dangerous actions that can lead to it being too late.

If you consult a hepatologist, they can accurately diagnose the current condition of your liver and the cause by performing blood tests, abdominal ultrasound (echo) examinations, and tests to measure liver stiffness (such as Shear wave elastography).

5．Summary: True Early Detection is Checkups “Before Symptoms Appear”

I have explained the signs of a bad liver, but I want to convey the most important point.

For true early detection of liver disease, waiting until “symptoms” appear is too late.

It is more important than anything to discover liver disease at the asymptomatic “fatty liver” or “chronic hepatitis” stages and start treatment. To do that, please be sure to undergo an annual health checkup (blood tests, abdominal ultrasound) even if you have no symptoms.

Even if you are already feeling anxious because symptoms like ascites or jaundice have appeared, please never give up. Today, treatments to suppress the progression of liver cirrhosis and alleviate symptoms have advanced. At our clinic, from the standpoint of a hepatologist, we do not perform regenerative medicine for various other diseases, but strictly provide regenerative medicine specialized for liver diseases.

Do not miss the SOS signs from your liver, and begin taking action to protect your liver before the signs even appear.