On September 15 to 18 the British Liver Trust visited Northern Ireland with their trailer offering free FibroScans to members of the public to check their liver health. We will publish the stats on numbers when we have this information to hand but we can say that many people did avail of the opportunity. The event was in Enniskillen om Monday, Stormont on Tuesday, Belfast City Hall on Wednesday with the final day being at the Diamond Coleraine.
This is a very important and beneficial event held yearly by the Trust and we encourage uptake always. We are seeing more and more patients now with fatty liver disease caused by bad diet and lack of exercise. This condition, if undiagnosed, can lead to severe liver damage and cirrhosis, just like the many other liver conditions. In virtually all cases there will be no prior symptoms until its too late .
We would take this opportunity to nudge the general public to consider their eating habits and exercise regime and to consider making lifestyle changes if necessary. We have more information available from our home page on fatty liver (MASLD).
Equally, if you consider yourself as someone who may be consuming excess amounts of alcohol it is time now to take a closer look at the units being consumed. We are finding that most patients presenting with cirrhosis or end stage liver disease are not those who are alcohol dependent; rather, it is those who are social drinkers who consume moderate amounts over a long period of time.
