Even if you only have mild liver pain, you should consult a doctor about it if it is ongoing. Your doctor will discuss your symptoms with you and will do a physical exam. The physical exam will typically include testing your basic vital signs and feeling the liver for inflammation.
- Women over the age of 40 should see if their doctor to check for gallbladder disease. Overweight women are at higher risk.
- Get immediate emergency medical care if the pain is severe and combined with nausea, dizziness, or hallucinations. This could signal a life-threatening condition.
2.Have your liver tested
If your doctor suspects a problem with your liver, they may do a variety of tests on that specific organ. These tests may include a combination of liver function tests and imaging of the organ.
- If preliminary tests do show an issue with the liver, your doctor may then order a liver biopsy to inspect the cells of the organ.
3.Discuss pain management with your doctor
If you are having ongoing liver pain, it is important to discuss how to eliminate or minimize the pain in the future. Your doctor may be able to prescribe you a pain reliever that is safe for your liver and give you tips about how to minimize the pain with lifestyle changes.
- It is likely that you will need both medication and lifestyle changes, such as weight loss or a special diet, to treat your liver pain.
- Your doctor may tell you to take over-the-counter pain relievers. Be sure to follow their recommendations for dosage, as exceeding recommended doses could tax your liver.
4.Get treatment for your associated illness
If you are having liver pain that is due to a specific illness, treating the illness effectively will likely minimize your pain. Follow your doctor’s suggestions for treatment and keep them up to date with changes in your condition.
- Your medical treatment will vary depending on what is causing your pain. If you have a less serious illness, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, it may be managed exclusively by making your diet healthier and reducing your cholesterol. More serious illnesses, such as liver cancer, will have more serious and invasive treatments, such as a liver transplant.
Method 3
Identifying Liver Pain
1.Feel for tenderness in the upper abdomen
The liver is located in the upper abdomen, below the lungs and above the stomach. If you are having pain in that area, it may be coming from your liver.
2.Identify a dull aching on the right-hand side of the abdomen
Since the liver is on the right side of the body, it is likely that your pain will be more acute on the right side. If the pain is more generalized, it may be originating from another organ.
3.Suspect liver pain if you have an associated illness.
There are a variety of illnesses that commonly cause liver pain. If you are experiencing abdominal pain and you have one of these diseases, the pain is likely originating in your liver:
- Hepatitis
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- Gallbladder disease
- Cirrhosis
- Reye syndrome
- Hemochromatosis
- Liver cancer
