If you’re fact-checking the headline “3 signs that prove your liver is dying inside,” that wording is too alarming. Symptoms alone cannot prove that the liver is failing, and serious liver disease can sometimes have few or no symptoms until it is advanced.
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Three important warning signs
Yellow skin or eyes (jaundice): This can occur when the liver is unable to properly process bilirubin.
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Confusion or unusual sleepiness: Advanced liver disease can cause hepatic encephalopathy, in which toxins build up and affect brain function.
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A swollen abdomen or significant leg swelling: Fluid accumulation (ascites or edema) can occur with advanced cirrhosis and liver dysfunction.
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Other concerning signs include easy bleeding/bruising, dark urine, vomiting blood or passing black stools, severe weakness, and loss of appetite or weight.
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Vomiting blood, black/bloody stools, severe confusion, fainting, or rapidly worsening symptoms require emergency medical attention.
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A doctor diagnoses liver failure or cirrhosis using medical history, examination, blood tests, and sometimes imaging, rather than symptoms alone.
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