Taking care of your body has always been important and in the prevailing times, it has become an even more serious aspect of one’s life. The pandemic has multiplied the problems that were already sufficient sized issues and the effect of the virus on the human body had still not been understood well. Corona can attack the liver, heart, lungs, brain, and whatnot. There is no way out of this pandemic that does not involve caring for oneself.
Thus, people need to be reminded how health check-ups and other steps need to be taken to take care of one’s own body. While masking, sanitizing, social distancing, and a few other things have become the norm there is still a lot that needs to be done to proceed ahead without much harm. So today here we are to speak on taking care of one’s liver and how and what liver functioning test is and why it comes into the picture.
What is the liver functioning test?
A liver functioning test is a process of testing one’s liver to check its condition. The liver produces various substances in our body, and these are tested to see if the liver is healthy or not. Most commonly the different types of Proteins and Enzymes are tested in the liver functioning test. If the numbers are in range, then the liver is said to be in a good condition. If the numbers exceed or fall short of the range, then the person’s liver may have problems.
Purpose of the test?
The liver is one of the most hard-working organs of the body and naturally, it is bound to final or slow down at some point. The liver functioning test comes to use in times like these:
- The liver functioning test can be used to check a person’s liver for a case of hepatitis which is a liver disease.
- The liver functioning test can also be used to check a person’s treatment journey. When a person is being treated for liver issues liver functioning tests can help keep their condition in check, if or not the treatment is effective can be understood by these tests.
- Cirrhosis is another liver disease that can cause damage to it and a liver functioning test can help understand a person’s case. These tests can determine the amount of damage that has been caused to a person’s liver.
- Liver treatment may also need a person to go through medication and these may or may not be well received by the liver and this can be observed or understood by a liver functioning test.
How is the test conducted?
The LFT test is very easy to conduct. The patient must just go through a blood withdrawal. When a person donates blood a small amount of blood is drawn through their veins and stored in a pouch for future use. Similarly, here the blood is drawn from a person’s body in an even smaller quantity and kept in a vial or test tube. This blood is later sent to a test center where various aspects of it are checked to determine if or not a person’s liver is okay.
When to opt for the test?
An LFT test can be opted for after a consultation with a doctor. There are various symptoms that a person can read into and realize that it is time to get an LFT test. Since liver problems can be life-threatening these are symptoms that should not be ignored and force a person to head for an LFT test.
- If the person is feeling weakness in the body for an elongated period, then it may be time to head for an LFT test.
- Having fatigue issues or being low on energy for a person who is usually very active, can be a sign that the liver needs a diagnosis for any issues.
- Sudden weight loss without dieting or any other measures involved may be another condition pointing at a possible liver disease.
- If a person has Jaundice, then they might need to head to get the test done.
- Fluid collection in the abdomen
- Change in colour of urine or floating stools may be another potential early call for a person needing these tests
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pain in the abdomen and unusual bleeding or bruising might also point to a potential liver problem.
Cost of the Liver test?
These tests are not very pricey, and people can get them done for less than 500 rupees depending on where they live.
There are more than one protein and enzyme test that a person can opt to go for. Liver damage might end a person’s life if not paid attention to and thus, by this article, we hope we have made you aware when the right time is to head for a test to get the chance of an early diagnosis and early treatment.