Liver and bile damage from eating raw vegetables

Damage to liver and bile because of eating habits

At the beginning of May, Ms. DTT (24 years old from Hung Yen) felt pain in the epigastrium spreading to the right lower quadrant.

Two days later, her family panicked when her skin turned yellow like turmeric, yellow sclera, and discolored stools. Although there is no fever, the female patient is constantly itchy.

“I was so itchy that I couldn’t sleep, I had to scratch constantly,” shared Ms. T. Poor eating, poor sleep made her lose 3kg in a short time.

Going to a large hospital in Hanoi, she received a result that suspected gallstones. Magnetic resonance imaging showed that the patient had liver damage due to fascioliasis.

“Normally, I sometimes eat aquatic vegetables living outside the restaurant, unexpectedly, I could get sick,” she said.

At Dang Van Ngu Hospital (Hanoi) – a place specializing in the treatment of parasitic diseases, the doctor diagnosed her with large liver fluke, increased liver enzymes, and visceral migration of larvae (infection of toxocariasis). ).

After nearly a week of treatment, her pain improved. The doctor said her yellow eyes and skin were caused by biliary obstruction. This is a severe case of the disease.

The same hospital as Ms. T is Mr. NCN (51 years old, in Thai Binh). Before the holiday, Mr. N. suddenly felt a sharp pain like pushing the right lower quadrant. The acute pain subsided but he still felt a dull ache.

Before that, despite eating normally, he was surprised when he lost a lot of weight and was thin. His whole body was itchy and uncomfortable. Going to the local doctor, he received a result that he suspected he had a liver tumor. The doctor there advised him to get checked for cancer.

“When I heard about liver tumors, I thought it was a death sentence, very shocked,” Mr. N. recalled.

Going to Bach Mai Hospital for examination, Mr. N. received the results of liver damage caused by liver flukes, transferred to Dang Van Ngu Hospital for treatment.

Only the first half of May, but the Department of Treatment, Dang Van Ngu Hospital has received and treated up to 30 patients with fascioliasis, more than the whole month of April (only 22 cases). Patients of different ages, with a baby just 12 months old and a toddler, had a liver fluke.

“Most of the patients with fascioliasis in particular and parasitic infections in general who come to this clinic for examination and treatment have gone to 4-5 medical facilities at all levels,” said Dr. BS Tran Huy Tho, Deputy Director. Director of Dang Van Ngu Hospital, said.

Many people are worried, so they should go to an oncologist because they suspect a liver tumor, liver abscess or go to the doctor for treatment for tuberculosis and lung disease due to symptoms of cough, pleural effusion, long-term high fever…

Broken liver because of large liver fluke

According to doctors, clinical symptoms of liver fluke disease are often non-specific, in some cases there are no symptoms, only a physical examination can detect lesions.

In the mild form, the patient feels fatigue, anorexia, weight loss, fever, and anemia. However, in moderate form, 80% of cases have pain in the right upper quadrant, spreading posteriorly, or pain in the epigastrium or nasopharynx. The pain can be dull, sometimes intense, intermittent, painful.

Patients may have high fever, chills, sometimes prolonged fever. Many people with prolonged infection will have anemia, blue skin, pale mucous membranes. The patient has a feeling of fullness in the stomach, dyspepsia, digestive disorders, nausea.

Especially, when the progression is severe, some patients have clinical manifestations of complications of biliary obstruction, cholangitis, acute pancreatitis, gastrointestinal bleeding… Patients also have multiple joint pain, muscle pain, redness of the skin due to an inflammatory response. About 30% of patients have skin rashes, skin allergies, itching, discomfort, discomfort.

Fatigue, anorexia, weight loss, some people also have cough, shortness of breath, fever, even pleural effusion. Vietnam has also recorded a case of liver failure due to liver fluke.

The treatment of liver fluke is not complicated, it is carried out with specific drugs to kill flukes. Patients are given diuretics, laxatives before and after specific drug treatment…

Patients are also improved in physical condition, combined with monitoring and treatment of underlying diseases.

Usually, an average course of treatment lasts about 10 days. If the patient is still infected with fascioliasis, repeat treatment should be continued. Patients need to be re-examined after 1 month of treatment to evaluate the effectiveness.

Dr. Tho said that liver fluke infection is related to people’s eating habits, so prevention is an important and necessary issue.

Doctors recommend people not to eat raw vegetables growing under water; do not drink water.

Thanh Hien