Firstly, when I was diagnosed with this disease called a liver abscess. I was a bit worried as I had no idea what exactly is a liver abscess. So there were a number of questions in my head that I would like to enlist below and I know these questions will haunt many people who are suffering from this disease. So enlist them & answer them one by one.
What is Liver Abscess?
Liver abscess is a type of disease that can happen to anyone, although the chances of someone having this disease are rare but still if you have a liver abscess then it should be immediately treated. If this disease is left untreated or neglected, it can turn out to be a fatal disease. A liver abscess is nothing but a sack of pus-filled protrusion that sits on your liver.
How did Liver Abscess develop?
Let us try and understand the flow of the pathogen through the following bullet points.
- In my case, as has been explained by the doctor the bacteria entered the Stomach
- Then went into the Small Intestine and got absorbed by the Blood
- The blood carried the bacteria to the Liver and then that bacteria started attacking the Liver
- The body’s immune system came into action and curtailed the bacterial infection resulting in extra production of neutrophils or monocytes.
- Neutrophils are nothing but a type of white blood cell (WBC).
- This condition where there is an abnormal rise in WBCs mainly monocytes is known as Moncytosis.
- A battle took place between bacteria & neutrophils resulting in the formation of pus.
- The bacteria decided to make the battleground its home resulting in the formation of an abscess.
The liver is enlarged due to the extra mass of pus which causes pain inside the abdomen. This pain can be sharp or persistently slow and increases in intensity with the rise in fever. The pain in the abdomen area will be right below the rib cage in my case, it extended in a disc shape that covered the entire back and the stomach area near the ribs.
What are the symptoms of a liver abscess?
The following are the symptoms of this disease.
- High Fever – 100°F or 37.778°C which subsides after taking paracetamol but recurs again after the effect of paracetamol. Implying constant high fever. High fever intervals in the morning & evening in my case fever intervals were around 103 – 104°F. This may differ from person to person.
- Abdominal Pain just below the ribs, pain in the back just opposite to the pain in the abdomen
- Loss of Appetite
- Weakness that increases every day
- Chills, Shivering & Night sweats
- A feeling of vomiting nausea
- Dark coloured stool
- Yellowing of the skin
- Stomach ache & backache close to kidney
- High WBCs count in CBC blood test where neutrophils numbers are high
NOTE – The symptoms may vary in intensity depending on the size of the Abscess. In my case, the abscess was a single abscess of the volume of 230cc. Therefore symptoms were severe, someone might experience only mild symptoms. Others might not even experience the symptoms & recover completely. However, if you experience any of these symptoms check out an experienced M.D doctor.
The best diet for Liver Abscess | What can I eat in Liver Abscess? | Can I eat ____ in liver abscess?
There is no specific diet plan for patients with liver abscesses. The doctor will tell you to eat cooked food, and fruits and you’re free to eat everything you want. But for the speedy recovery of the liver and to get the maximum results one must follow a simple diet regime.
- Add Honey to your diet
- Eat Dalia/ Oats/ Porridge without milk, salt or any other masala not even green chillies, black pepper or red chillies.
- Avoid masala, gravy, ghee, and butter altogether
- Eat Rice/& boiled Lentils/Dals after some time you can add tomato, onion, turmeric, garlic & little oil
- Eat boiled vegetables without masala or gravy, take care that these are not overcooked
- Eat Fruits, wash them with boiled water, beetroot, pomegranate, lemon, pineapple, apple, coconut water etc
- Drink buttermilk or eat curd in small quantity
- Eat Mecca/Bajra ki Raab
- Avoid salts & fats any type of masala, gravy & all forms of non-veg.
- No packed or canned food or sugary drinks or any food item from outside even cooked food
- Only home-cooked hot, fresh food without much salt, chilly, garam masala i.e. spices.
Liver Abscess tests
In my case, the following were the tests that were conducted to examine the situation.
- CBC – Complete Blood Count – Where you will find an abnormally higher number of WBC – Within WBC you will have a higher number of neutrophils. These are monocytes meaning small single-cell WBC that are the first line of defence against pathogens.
- Urine Test – To check the functioning of the kidney, so that there are no other complications.
- Ultrasound of the abdomen to examine the size of the Abscess
- CT Scan to locate the position and exact volume of the liver abscess
- Widal Test for identifying if there is Typhoid or Liver abscess or both
- Malaria Parasite test to check if there is any malaria-related complication
- Dengue test to check that the patient is not infected with dengue
What is the treatment for liver disease abscess patients? | Best treatment for liver abscess patients
The treatment for this pathogen includes a wide variety of medicines & if the medicines fail to deliver their intended results then at advanced stages we will observe some procedures. In short surgery or minor procedure as it is known in the doctors’ fraternity. The following image has explained the entire procedure of the line of treatment for both Amebic as well as Pyogenic liver abscesses. But to understand the treatment you must first know some full forms & parameters.
- The size of the diameter of the pus-filled sac is given in centimetres
- PNA stands for Percutaneous fine-needle aspiration to know more just tap this underlined sentence
- PCD stands for Pigtail Catheter Drainage
How to cook food for Liver Abscess patients?
The food should be cooked in a pressure cooker & should have undergone a temperature above 60 centigrade. A small amount of salt & turmeric can be added to the diet & nothing else. The boiled vegetables can have some black pepper but in a very low quantity. Avoid oil, extra salt sugar, spices, gravy & food both packed & unpacked outside the house. Drink boiled water & consume everything hot. Follow this for at least 15 days. Slowly, you can start eating regular home-cooked food with little spices. No alcohol for at least 6 months.
Don’t eat anything that is hard to digest avoid bakery, biscuits & every packed item.
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