The liver plays a crucial role in maintaining overall health. It aids digestion, removes toxins and produces proteins to promote normal body function.
An important part of caring for your liver is understanding your risk for liver disease. According to the American Liver Foundation, 81-100 million American adults have liver disease but don’t know it. Underlying liver disease can develop into scar tissue which can worsen to become cirrhosis and cause irreversible damage to the liver.
In honor of October’s recognition as National Liver Awareness Month, Hendricks Regional Health is helping to raise awareness of liver disease and how to prevent it. Here are some tips to help keep your liver working well:
- Drink no more than three alcoholic drinks a week.
- See your primary care provider for a physical every year.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Make sure any supplement or drug you take won’t harm your liver.
- Stay vaccinated if you participate in high-risk activities associated with viral hepatitis.
Some liver problems can be treated with lifestyle changes such as losing weight or not drinking alcohol. Others may require medicine or surgery. At Hendricks Regional Health, we use FibroScan® to assess liver health and help determine the best course of action. This non-invasive technology is FDA-approved to support early detection and management of liver disease. FibroScan can identify individuals who are asymptomatic and undiagnosed for liver damage.
FibroScans are performed at Westside Gastroenterology, LLC, located on the campus of Hendricks Regional Health’s Danville Hospital. A referral is required for anyone who wants to schedule an appointment. Once we receive the referral, patients can often be seen within 1-2 weeks.
| For more information regarding how the FibroScan® works, please visit https://www.hendricks.org/fibroscan. |
