"Ask the Doctor": Liver Disease

February 1, 2000

The Houston Chronicle presents an online chat series, "Ask the Doctor" where Dr. Woods discusses health issues including liver disease, transplants, hepatitis, organ donation, and cancer.

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HoustonChronicle: Welcome to Ask the Doctor! The purpose of the Ask The Doctor chats is to provide general information and is in no way intended to be construed as medical advice for any visitor's specific disease or condition. The intent is to increase a participant's knowledge about a general disease or condition. For treatment of your specific condition please see your personal physician. This forum is not intended to be used in emergency situations. If you are uncertain of the urgency of your problem or condition, contact your personal physician or the nearest hospital for assistance. HoustonChronicle.com, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital - Houston and the Talk City Network are proud to present our special guests for today, the doctors of the Texas Liver Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. Welcome Dr. Woods!

Dr Woods: I'm glad to be here!

Sigmagirl: Can you give me some general information about the liver? Where is it? How big is it?

Dr Woods: The liver is the single largest organ in the body. It occupies most of the upper portion of the right hand side of the abdomen. It sits largely protected by the ribcage on the right. And in general, it is (and certainly I'm prejudiced about this!) the most important organ in the body, as it performs over 200 functions - everything from protecting you from toxins you take into your body, to being the major energy factory. These are all important functions of the liver.

Whirlygig: Can you give me some general information on maintaining good liver health?

Dr Woods: In general the single most common cause of liver injury and liver disease in the United States is the abuse of alcohol, so the first step in maintaining good liver health is to either totally abstain from alcohol or only drink in moderation. In addition, maintaining overall general health such as avoiding obesity, abuse of both prescription and non-prescription drugs, and a well-balanced diet, are all important aspects of maintaining good liver health. Specifically, you can also protect your liver by avoiding high-risk behaviors that might lead to you contracting hepatitis. These behaviors include eating raw shellfish, being exposed to blood and blood products, and high-risk sexual activity. These are but a few things that you can do to protect your liver.

Steve1751: I smoke - does it affect my liver?

Dr Woods: The bad effects of smoking on the heart, lungs, and other blood vessels are certainly well known. There is no direct toxic effect of cigarette smoke, or its chemical products, on the liver.

Misstress0527: My husband has to take 400 mg of fluid pills daily--is this really safe?

Dr Woods: In general, the need to use medicines to get rid of excess fluid is usually treating the symptom of a disease, as opposed to the disease itself. If he has significant liver dysfunction, it may be necessary to take that amount of medicine to control the buildup of excess fluid that is associated in some patients with chronic liver disease. If the problem relates more to poor heart or kidney function, again, this amount of medicine may be necessary. I would hate to second guess anyone's physician, and certainly the least amount of medicine that one has to take to control their symptoms, the better it is. Certainly that amount of medicine described is not uncommon, in my experience with patients with liver disease.

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