The blood system that serves the liver is called the portal blood system. Sometimes, there can be a blockage in the system. This causes too much pressure and can cause a condition called portal hypertension. 

The blood pressure in the portal vein increases and can cause problems like bleeding in your oesophagus (gullet) and stomach. This pressure can cause swellings along the wall of your blood vessels. You can’t see them. They are called varices.  Fluid build-up in your tummy is called ascites. 

Cirrhosis is when there are changes in the type of tissue or cells in the liver. Bands of scar tissue form in the liver. The liver loses its special shape and it cannot do all of its jobs.

Ascites is a big collection of fluid that can build up in your tummy. Fluid can also collect in your arms and legs and even in your face. 

Ascites is caused when your liver is damaged, protein levels in the blood drop and your body saves too much salt. Your doctor may give you a kind of medication called a diuretic, which helps you pass more urine. This can help reduce the ascites.

Jaundice makes your skin and eyes yellow. Your urine goes very dark and your bowel motions lose their colour. In your body, old cells die and your body is always making new cells to replace them. 

Bilirubin is a waste product left over when red blood cells die. A healthy liver excretes bilirubin in bile. If your liver cannot get rid of bilirubin, it must go somewhere. So it gets stored just under your skin and in the whites of your eyes and comes out as a yellow colour in your urine.

Jaundice can make you itchy. This itching is called pruritus and is caused by the bile salts that are being stored just under your skin. 

If you scratch very hard you can break the skin. You have to be very careful because germs can get into your body through these scratches and cause an infection.

Failure to thrive means you do not grow as well as you should. This happens when your liver cannot secrete bile to change the fat from foods you eat into energy you can use. The fat is excreted in your bowel motions instead of being used for energy to help you grow. 

The liver cannot store vitamins from your food either so you don’t have enough energy in your body to help you grow. It does not make any difference if you eat more because your liver still can’t use it. It treats the food like waste. 

To encourage your body to grow, your doctor may give you some vitamin medicines that your body can use.

People whose livers do not work properly may not feel like eating. This might be because your body is not getting enough energy-making foods, so you are always tired and do not feel like eating or the ascites in your abdomen may push on your stomach and make you feel full, so you don’t want to eat. 

If your liver cannot make the chemicals to make your blood clot, you may bruise and bleed easily. You might have bleeding gums and lots of nose bleeds.

If you vomit, you might see ‘black blood’ in your vomit. This is blood that you have swallowed. The juices in your stomach turn it black and then it gives you a sick feeling. Also, if you have swallowed blood, your bowel motions might be black.