These are the medicines that hurt your liver

If there is a fundamental organ for life, that is responsible for and participates in more than 100 functions, and that in fact more tends to suffer according to the lifestyle or habits that we follow, that is the liver. It is the most voluminous organ, and precisely one of the most important due to its vital metabolic activity.

It's more, the liver is responsible for performing unique and vital functions for life, among which are important and essential functions such as the synthesis of plasma proteins, stores vitamins and glycogen, produces urea from the nitrogen of amino acids, stores and releases sugar into the blood, synthesizes fatty acids and stores fats that they contribute the foods that we consume, among others. But even if it is responsible for the storage of fats there is a very common, highly related condition, known by the name of fatty liver.

But it also takes care of an equally fundamental function: the very important detoxifying function, eliminating from the blood the different substances that can be harmful and dangerous for our organism, transforming them into other innocuous substances.

Although the liver takes over precisely to detoxify our organism, that does not mean that it is harmless work. It's more, most drugs and medicines that we consume habitually and every day can be harmful to the liver, arriving to produce damages and problems in this important organ.

In fact, did you know that there are more than 900 drugs that damage the liver? All these drugs, after consumption, tend to trigger hepatotoxicity, which you can take in hepatitis, which medically consists basically of the inflammation of the liver(which can be caused in turn by other causes such as viruses, alcohol consumption and excess fat). It is what is known as toxic hepatitisOr simply hepatitis by drugs.

Knowing a little more about toxic hepatitis

Toxic hepatitis is basically inflammation of the liver as a result of the consumption of certain drugs and medicines that damage the liver, and that ultimately original or cause its inflammation.

It is especially related to the consumption of drugs, although as we indicated it can also be caused by the consumption of chemical substances or products and by alcohol.

The reason is found precisely in one of the vital functions performed by the liver in our body: the process of detoxification. And is that the liver works continuously by removing most drugs and chemicals from the blood, so that the damage can occur from an allergic reaction, or as a consequence of a failure in the chain of transformation due to a genetic defect of the substances or enzymes responsible for carrying out the metabolism.

At this time, despite the great regeneration capacity of the liver, constant exposure to this type of toxic substances can cause serious damage to the liver, in many cases irreversible. And it is the point at which that toxic substance builds up in the liver and inflames it.

What medications cause liver damage?

Although it is true that very few drugs or medications damage the liver enough to cause symptoms, such as abdominal pain, jaundice or pruritus, the reality is that many of the drugs that we consume every day can affect the functionality of the liver and cause injuries.

It is the case of paracetamol, especially when it is consumed in excess (when it exceeds 3 grams per day), commonly used to relieve pain associated with colds or flu, and that can cause serious liver damage, causing the appearance of a acute hepatitis.

The antibiotics(among which are amoxicillin-clavulanic, erythromycin, etc.) can also cause liver damage and inflammation, as occurs with anti-inflammatory, among which we find drugs as consumed as the ibuprofen or the naproxen. The same thing happens with the acetylsalicylic acid(aspirin), the diclofenac, the chlorpromazine, the Allopurinol wave carbamazepine.

But there are other common medications that can cause liver damage, and you probably do not know. It is the case of statins, which are prescribed medications to lower high cholesterol levels. Waves contraceptive pills, usually consumed by many women every day.

In summary, these are some of the drugs most consumed that can cause damage and inflammation in the liver:

Paracetamol:It is a drug with analgesic and antipyretic action, useful to relieve pain in case of general malaise and muscle pain. It is very used in case of flu and cold, especially when they do not occur with inflammation. Also when there is a fever.
Anti-inflammatories:among them is the best known, ibuprofen, and also others such as naproxen sodium, among which we find the antalgin. In the case of ibuprofen, for example, it is not only anti-inflammatory, but also analgesic.
Antibiotics:they are useful drugs to treat infections of bacterial origin (that is, caused specifically by bacteria).
Statins:medications used to lower high cholesterol.
Contraceptive pills:drugs that help prevent pregnancy by its content in certain hormones that prevent the release of ovules from the ovaries, preventing ovulation.

However, most of the time we must bear in mind that this type of substances cause liver damage not because their molecules are more harmful, but because they are precisely the drugs most consumed, thus increasing the probability of causing hepatotoxicity.

What can be done to reduce the damage to the liver due to the use of medications?

It is vital to see the doctor if after taking any drug or medication there are discomforts or symptoms such as general malaise, lack of appetite, tiredness and dark urine, and tell you what medication we have taken and which was the one that could have caused that reaction.

On the other hand, there are also some useful tips that can be of great help at the time of diminishing to the maximum the possible damage that could cause to the liver this type of drugs:

Avoid self-medication:It is essential to avoid consuming drugs without proper prescription or medical advice.
If you already take medications under prescription:Consult your doctor if you are going to start the consumption of a supplement or new supplement.

And finally, we recommend reading the article to follow the steps to Detoxify the liver, useful to take care of your liver naturally and protect it. This article is published for informational purposes only. It can not and should not replace the consultation with a Physician. We advise you to consult your Trusted Doctor. ThemesLiver diseases Liver