What is liver function? The physiological functions of the liver include the metabolism of proteins, sugars, lipids, vitamins and other substances, as well as the conversion and detoxification of hormones and drugs. In addition, as an important digestive organ, the liver is also involved in the secretion of bile. Liver function tests can reflect whether the physiological functions of the liver are abnormal and provide some guidance in determining the cause of liver function abnormalities. Liver function is generally measured by blood tests, which include alanine aminotransferase (also known as alanine aminotransferase, ALT), portal aminotransferase (also known as glutamate aminotransferase, AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma-GT or GGT), total bilirubin (TBil), and direct bilirubin (DBil). direct bilirubin (DBil), total bile acid (TBA), prealbumin (PA), albumin (Alb), cholinesterase (CHE), prothrombin time (PT) and prothrombin activity (PTA). Many people get a physical examination form that says “elevated transaminases”, which indicates that liver function abnormalities may exist and require further consultation with a specialist. What should I do if I find liver function abnormalities? Mild liver function abnormalities often do not cause discomfort, many patients are found to have elevated transaminases during physical examinations. The reason is that the physical examination usually only tests a few major indicators such as ALT and AST, but after the abnormalities occur, a comprehensive assessment of the complete liver function is needed to clarify the cause of liver function abnormalities, which requires a review of the whole liver function, and the enzymatic indicators in the liver function test are affected by the process of eating, so the liver function test needs to be fasted for more than 8 hours to avoid errors. What can cause abnormal liver function? Abnormal liver function is a direct manifestation of liver damage. Common causes of abnormal liver function include: viral hepatitis (including viral hepatitis A, B, C, D and E), alcoholic liver disease, fatty liver from various causes, drug-related liver injury, immune liver disease, serious systemic infectious diseases, gallbladder lesions, liver and biliary tumors, etc. Can abnormal liver function be contagious? Many patients who find themselves with liver function problems are afraid of infecting others in their family, so they begin to share meals with their family members and worry that they have an “infectious disease”. So will abnormal liver function be as contagious as people fear it will be? To answer this question, we must first understand what is “hepatitis”? Hepatitis is the abbreviation of liver inflammation, when the various causes of liver cell destruction, transaminases and other indicators abnormal is hepatitis, hepatitis is divided into acute, chronic, when the liver function abnormal time longer than 6 months is chronic hepatitis. As mentioned earlier, there are many causes of liver function abnormalities, among which only viral hepatitis is contagious, other causes of hepatitis are not contagious to others, so there is no need to talk about “hepatitis” when liver function abnormalities are found. Can liver function abnormalities be cured? Most liver function abnormalities can be cured through professional and systematic treatment. The human body has a strong self-healing function, and some mild liver function abnormalities can be cured on their own by changing poor lifestyle (such as drinking alcohol, eating too much high-calorie food, etc.) and rest. In the case of viral hepatitis B and hepatitis caused by immune liver disease, although the current medical level cannot completely remove the cause of the disease and cut off the source, it is possible to reduce liver inflammation through medication, thus improving liver function and preventing the condition from deteriorating. What are the dangers of abnormal liver function? Secondly, long-term liver function abnormalities affect the metabolism of proteins, sugars, lipids and other essential substances in the body and cause diseases in other organs; thirdly, long-term liver function abnormalities increase the occurrence of cirrhosis and even liver cancer. Third, long-term abnormal liver function increases the chance of cirrhosis and even liver cancer. Therefore, if you find abnormal liver function, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible to find the cause and actively treat it. What should I pay attention to when I have abnormal liver function? 1, do not overwork, reduce physical activity: outside of work other time to lie down to rest, can not stay up late. Chinese medicine believes that “people lying down, blood to the liver”, lying down to rest, blood to the liver, play a role in nourishing the liver, help liver repair, modern medical research also confirmed that the human body in lying down to rest, liver blood sinusoidal open, liver blood flow is more abundant than the activity, is conducive to the removal of harmful substances, to promote liver cell repair. 2, with high-quality protein, high vitamin, low sugar, low fat diet: high-quality protein, including eggs, milk, lean meat, fish, soy products, etc., can provide the necessary energy for liver repair, vitamins, especially B, C vitamins can promote liver cell repair, while low sugar, low fat diet is to reduce the metabolic burden of the liver; in addition, drinkers should strictly abstain from alcohol, alcohol metabolites have liver Toxicity, will aggravate liver damage, so be sure to strictly control alcohol intake. 3, careful use of drugs that can cause liver damage: common drugs that can easily damage the liver are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including some of our familiar painkillers, antipyretics, such as ibuprofen, Fen-Phen, Benadryl, etc., as well as anti-tuberculosis drugs, some anti-inflammatory drugs, some drugs for the treatment of mental illnesses, etc. In addition, some herbal medicines, if taken improperly, can also hurt the liver, so liver function abnormalities, if due to other diseases Therefore, if you visit the doctor for other diseases, you must tell the doctor to choose drugs with less liver damage to avoid aggravating liver damage by drugs. Remember: all medications should be taken by a professional physician, not blindly.