On Vacation with your Liver

The liver is an under appreciated organ- it keeps us healthy yet we only appreciate it after it is not functioning correctly. Liver disease complications cause people to become sick rapidly (jaundice, coma and death) or develop cancer.

Travelers are now frequently immunized against Hepatitis A and B. These are important but Canadian Hepatologists (Liver doctors) are concerned about other liver diseases that Manitobans are more frequently being diagnosed with that are relevant to travelers and can be prevented.

Hepatitis A is transmitted by food and water prevented by a vaccine.

Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than HIV and it is transmitted through blood contact. It is preventable by immunization unlike Hepatitis C, which is also blood bourne but has no vaccine for it yet.

Hepatitis E is a food and water borne infection (like Hepatitis A) yet there is no vaccine for "E". Avoiding unsafe water best prevents it. Although less common than A it is always best to be sure water really is clean and boil it if suspicious when travelling in areas know to have "E" outbreaks.

There is even a Hepatitis D, which is actually a plant virus that only infects people already infected with "B". So the Hepatitis B vaccine will protect people against "B" and "D"!

Other emerging liver diseases are not infectious and include "fatty liver disease". It is associated with obesity and diabetes and is becoming more common. Like the infectious types of hepatitis, fatty liver may lead to cirrhosis and liver failure. The good news is that reasonable dieting and exercise can correct this or even better yet prevent it.

Alcoholic hepatitis is a severe and common problem in our society. Whether a chronic large daily dose or weekend binge drinking both lead to liver disease.

Much has been said about the health benefits of moderate daily alcohol use (1-2 drinks per day). At present it appears that beer or wine are equal in this benefit but the key is still moderation- more is definitely not healthier . Also, anyone with either addiction or liver problems should forget about a drink a day as this advice cannot be applied for them.

Both fatty liver and alcoholic liver are diseases of leisure. The lifestyle patterns travelers initiate or maintain while on vacation have long-term health problems.

Hepatologists estimate that 1 in 10 Canadians will have liver problems. Although there are over 100 causes of liver disease the common ones mentioned above are all preventable. The Canadian Liver Foundation ( www.liver.ca ) has a new LIVERight program that gives further information on how to prevent liver problems.

Family physicians are able to screen for liver diseases with simple tests at a office during routine check ups. Diagnosed early, liver diseases can be treated specifically early to avoid long-term complications and ultimately decrease the liver transplantation that is becoming much too frequent.