Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesSymptomsComplicationsDiagnosisTreatmentPreventionWhen to See a Provider
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
Symptoms
Complications
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prevention
When to See a Provider
Liver inflammation describes a condition known ashepatitis. While people tend to associate hepatitis withviral hepatitis(hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C), there are also nonviral causes, such asalcoholic hepatitis,autoimmune hepatitis, andfatty liver disease.
Whenever yourliveris suddenly inflamed, you may experience the classic symptoms of hepatitis, including dark urine, upper abdominal pain, and yellowing of the eyes and skin. If the inflammation persists, it can cause scarring that gradually diminishes the function of the liver, leading tocirrhosisand, in some cases,liver failureorliver cancer.
This article describes the causes, symptoms, and complications of liver inflammation. It also explains how liver inflammation is diagnosed and treated and ways to reduce your risk of hepatitis in any of its many forms.
Boris Jovanovic / Getty Images
What Causes Liver Inflammation?
When the inflammation occurs in the liver, it is known as hepatitis. Many infectious and nonnoninfectious conditions can cause liver inflammation.
Viral Hepatitis
Arguably, the most recognized cause of liver inflammation is viral hepatitis. Viral hepatitis is a highly contagious disease that targets and attacks cells of the liver.
Five types of viral hepatitis are:
How Viral Hepatitis Is Transmitted
Parasitic Infections
Several different parasites also target the liver. Some enter the body through the mouth or breaks in the skin, while others can penetratemucosal tissuesor enter the body through insect bites.
These include:
Bacterial Infections
The causes can be broadly categorized as:
Does the Liver Regenerate (and When Doesn’t It)?
Fatty Liver Disease
Fatty liver disease—also known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and, more recently,metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)—is the accumulation of fat in the liver due to metabolic conditions like:
The deposit of fat, calledhepatic steatosis, can trigger inflammation that remains largelyasymptomatic(without symptoms) for many years.
Over time, the inflammation can start to damage the liver and lead to a more serious condition known asmetabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
Do I Have a Fatty Liver?
Alcoholic Liver Disease
How Fast Does Alcohol Damage the Liver?ALD is a slowly progressive disease but one that can be at least partially reversed once drinking is stopped. Alcohol hepatitis, an advanced stage of ALD, tends to affect people who drink large quantities of alcohol daily for at least 10 to 20 years.
How Fast Does Alcohol Damage the Liver?
ALD is a slowly progressive disease but one that can be at least partially reversed once drinking is stopped. Alcohol hepatitis, an advanced stage of ALD, tends to affect people who drink large quantities of alcohol daily for at least 10 to 20 years.
Autoimmune Hepatitis
Autoimmune hepatitisis a chronic condition in which the immune system mistakenly attacks cells of the liver. In 25% to 34% of cases, the inflammatory reaction will be asymptomatic and only be identified on blood tests.
When symptoms do develop, they can range from subclinical (barely noticeable) to fulminant (severe to the point of life-threatening). As with allautoimmune diseases, autoimmune hepatitis tends to affect females more than males.
How Autoimmune Hepatitis Is Diagnosed
Genetic Disorders
Several genetic disorders can cause liver inflammation. These conditions are passed from parents to a child via aberrant gene mutations.
The three most common of these are:
Medications and Toxins
Hundreds of substances can cause liver inflammation, some of which are dose-dependent (only causing toxicity at higher doses) or idiosyncratic (affecting some people but not others).
Medications and supplements of special concern include:
How Tylenol Causes Liver Damage
Biliary Diseases
The liver, along with thegallbladderand bile ducts, is part of thebiliary system. This is the system that transportsbile(a fluid containing digestive enzymes) from the liver to the gallbladder, where it is stored and secreted to break up fat into thesmall intestine.
How to Tell Gallbladder and Liver Pain Apart
Shock Liver
Causes of shock liver include:
What Is Idiopathic Hepatitis?Idiopathic hepatitis is when liver inflammation occurs for no known cause. It is a condition most commonly seen in newborns, either affecting the liver (idiopathic neonatal hepatitis) or the gallbladder (idiopathic neonatal cholangitis).The condition is diagnosed when all other causes are excluded. It usually resolves on its own without complications.
What Is Idiopathic Hepatitis?
Idiopathic hepatitis is when liver inflammation occurs for no known cause. It is a condition most commonly seen in newborns, either affecting the liver (idiopathic neonatal hepatitis) or the gallbladder (idiopathic neonatal cholangitis).The condition is diagnosed when all other causes are excluded. It usually resolves on its own without complications.
Idiopathic hepatitis is when liver inflammation occurs for no known cause. It is a condition most commonly seen in newborns, either affecting the liver (idiopathic neonatal hepatitis) or the gallbladder (idiopathic neonatal cholangitis).
The condition is diagnosed when all other causes are excluded. It usually resolves on its own without complications.
Symptoms of Liver Inflammation
Liver inflammation can be described in one of two ways:
Acute hepatitis also slows bile secretion, reducing the amount released into the small intestine and changing the color of stools.
Symptoms of acute liver inflammation include:
Signs and Symptoms of Hepatitis
Complications of Liver Inflammation
Although acute liver inflammation can sometimes damage the liver, the liver has the remarkable ability to regenerate itself and will often reverse the damage. Even so, severe cases have been known to lead toacute liver failureand death.
Arguably, the greater concern is when liver inflammation is chronic. Even at low levels, chronic inflammation can cause changes in liver cells that lead tofibrosis(scarring).Common causes of this include hepatitis B and C, fatty liver disease, and alcoholic liver disease.
While fibrosis itself doesn’t cause any symptoms, the damage it causes over the course of years can lead to potentially life-threatening complications like:
17 Complications of Cirrhosis
How Is Liver Inflammation Diagnosed?
The diagnosis of liver inflammation typically starts with a physical exam and a review of your medical history. Based on the initial findings, lab tests, imaging studies, and other procedures may be ordered to narrow the possible causes.
Initial Assessment
The physical exam typically involvespalpation(light touch) of the upper-right abdomen to check for signs of swelling or discomfort. Your healthcare provider will look for other signs of hepatitis, including jaundice, bruises, or a mild fever.
A review of your medical history can help identify risk factors for liver disease and may involve questions about:
Lab Tests
Based on the suspected causes of your symptoms, your healthcare provider will order different lab tests, including:
Imaging Studies
Different imaging tests can provide clues as to the cause of your symptoms, including the blockage of blood vessels or bile ducts, abnormal growths or masses, or signs of fibrosis.
Four common imaging studies include:
How Liver Elastography Test Works
Liver Biopsy
A liver biopsy can provide a definitive diagnosis for diseases like liver cancer, autoimmune hepatitis, MASLD, and Wilson’s disease. It can also help determine how advanced cancer or cirrhosis is to help direct the course of treatment.
Treatment of Liver Inflammation
Generally speaking, the best way to treat liver inflammation is to resolve the underlying cause. However, this is not always an option, particularly with incurable chronic liver diseases like hepatitis B or autoimmune hepatitis.
But even if a condition is not curable, the correct treatment can slow disease progression, preserve liver function, and ease pain and other symptoms. Examples include takingdaily antiviral drugsfor chronic hepatitis Bor usingstatinsandcalcium channel blockersto manage MASLD.
Lifestyle and Home Remedies
Certain changes in your diet and lifestyle can help ease liver inflammation when paired with simple, at-home remedies. Some of the more effective interventions include:
What to Eat If You Have Fatty Liver Disease
Medications
Certain over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications may help reduce liver inflammation and pain.
As contradictory as it may seem, Tylenol can be useful for people with chronic liver inflammation. Studies suggest that taking no more than 2,000 milligrams per day is safe for treating occasional liver pain.However, it shouldnotbe used if you have acute hepatitis.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)likeAdvil (ibuprofen)orAleve (naproxen)should also be avoided if you have acute or chronic liver inflammation, as they can cause potentially severe gastrointestinal bleeding.
Among the prescription drugs commonly used to ease inflammation in people with cirrhosis are:
Natural Remedies for Fatty Liver Disease
How to Prevent Liver Inflammation
You can’t always prevent liver inflammation, but there are things you can do to reduce your risk. Some of the more effective measures include
When to Contact a Healthcare Provider
The classic signs of hepatitis—jaundice, dark urine, and light stool—are difficult to miss, but there are times when the symptoms are subtle and easily overlooked. This is a big problem given that most cases of liver disease are only diagnosed when the condition is advanced and harder to treat.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), of the estimated 4.5 million people currently living with liver disease in the United States, only 1.8% have been diagnosed.
To this end, it is important to recognize thesigns of liver inflammationand identify if you are at high risk of liver disease.
The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) revised its guidelines in 2022 and now recommends annual screening for people at high risk of MASLD. This includes:
Even if you don’t have overt (or any) symptoms of liver inflammation, it may be in your best interest to seek screening for liver disease if you fall within these two high-risk groups.
Summary
Liver inflammation describes a condition called hepatitis. The most common cause is viral hepatitis. but other conditions like fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, bacterial hepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, and hepatotoxic drugs can also cause inflammation.
Acute liver inflammation can be mild or severe depending on the underlying cause. Chronic liver inflammation can lead to progressive scarring of the liver, resulting in complications like cirrhosis, liver cancer, or liver failure.
Facts About Liver Disease and COVID-19
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