Screening for Liver Disease
It’s important to get screened for liver disease because you might not have symptoms of liver damage in its early stages.
Talk to your doctor about your risk of liver disease. Get screened if you have multiple sexual partners and do not always use safer sex practices. And, get screened if you think you’ve been exposed to the hepatitis virus.
Screenings for liver disease include:
• Blood test—this is the most common screening for liver disease
• Imaging—your doctor will use radiological imaging, which is like taking pictures of the inside of your body, to look for problems in your liver
• Biopsy—your doctor takes a sample of liver tissue to test for liver problems If you have liver disease, your doctor will talk to you about treatment options. These may include medicines, surgery or, in some cases, a liver transplant.
How to Prevent Liver Disease
There are several things you can do to keep your liver healthy and help prevent liver disease:
• Limit how much alcohol you drink, or don’t drink at all. Men should have no more than two drinks per day, and women should have no more than one drink per day.
• Maintain a healthy weight through diet and exercise. Eat a low-fat, high fiber diet full of vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains. And, exercise for 30 minutes at least five days a week.
• Don’t smoke. The chemicals in cigarettes can harm your liver.
• Use condoms and safer sex practices to reduce the risk of getting hepatitis.
• Talk to your doctor about getting the hepatitis B vaccine if you are at risk.
• Take medicine exactly as your doctor prescribes. Some medicines, especially if you take them with alcohol, can damage your liver. Read medicine labels carefully, and talk to your doctor about all the medicines you take. Talk to your doctor about your risk of liver disease. Get screened if you have multiple sexual partners and do not always use safer sex practices. And, get screened if you think you’ve been exposed to the hepatitis virus. Screenings for liver disease include:
• Blood test—this is the most common screening for liver disease
• Imaging—your doctor will use radiological imaging, which is like taking pictures of the inside of your body, to look for problems in your liver
• Biopsy—your doctor takes a sample of liver tissue to test for liver problems If you have liver disease, your doctor will talk to you about treatment options. These may include medicines, surgery or, in some cases, a liver transplant.
