What is good to eat for a liver abscess?

Written by Zhang Wei Wei
Integrative Medicine
Updated on September 23, 2024
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You should eat a diet that is easy to digest, high in vitamins, low in fat, and high in calories. Avoid fatty, greasy, spicy, and stimulating foods. So, what types of food can we choose? We can choose foods like millet and pig stomach, including beans, because beans are high in protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin B. You can also eat seafood such as hairtail and yellow croaker, which can enhance immunity, repair damaged tissue cells, and strengthen the body's resistance to prevent viral infections. Additionally, you can eat fruits that clear heat and detoxify, relieve irritability, and quench thirst, such as dragon fruit, pears, apples, etc. You can also consume foods that are rich in potassium.

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Written by Zhang Wei Wei
Integrative Medicine
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Treatment of liver abscess

The treatment of liver abscesses is divided into medical and surgical treatment. Medical treatment mainly involves antibiotic therapy. For bacterial liver abscesses, especially during the acute phase when the inflammation is localized and an abscess has not yet formed, or there are multiple small abscesses, aggressive conservative medical treatment should be given. This involves the use of high doses of antibiotics and general supportive therapy to control the absorption of inflammation. The second method is antibiotics combined with percutaneous puncture drainage. For a single, larger liver abscess, aspiration of pus can be performed under ultrasound guidance. After aspirating as much pus as possible, antibiotics can be injected into the abscess cavity, followed by repeated punctures over several days, or a tube can be placed to drain the pus. When the abscess shrinks and the fluid output decreases, the tube can be removed. The third method is antibiotics combined with surgical drainage. For larger liver abscesses that have a potential to rupture and cause complications such as acute peritonitis and pyothorax, surgical incision and drainage should be performed urgently, alongside the use of systemic antibiotics. The fourth approach is antibiotics combined with surgical resection. For chronic liver abscesses, or those whose abscess walls do not collapse after drainage, leaving a dead space, or with sinus tracts that continually discharge pus without healing and where liver lobe destruction is severe with loss of normal functions, hepatic lobectomy can be performed.

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Written by Zhang Wei Wei
Integrative Medicine
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What is good to eat for a liver abscess?

You should eat a diet that is easy to digest, high in vitamins, low in fat, and high in calories. Avoid fatty, greasy, spicy, and stimulating foods. So, what types of food can we choose? We can choose foods like millet and pig stomach, including beans, because beans are high in protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin B. You can also eat seafood such as hairtail and yellow croaker, which can enhance immunity, repair damaged tissue cells, and strengthen the body's resistance to prevent viral infections. Additionally, you can eat fruits that clear heat and detoxify, relieve irritability, and quench thirst, such as dragon fruit, pears, apples, etc. You can also consume foods that are rich in potassium.

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Written by Zhang Wei Wei
Integrative Medicine
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Is a liver abscess serious? How is it treated?

If acute abdomen and peritonitis caused by liver abscesses, rupture, hemorrhage, or pyothorax, etc., liver abscesses are relatively severe. In these cases, the first steps should be the use of adequate antibiotics for a sufficient course, along with systemic supportive therapy, then controlling the inflammation and promoting the absorption of the inflammation. For conditions like rupture of liver abscesses or severe damage to the liver lobes that results in loss of normal function, surgical removal may also be considered. Additionally, for large liver abscesses that have perforated, causing peritonitis, pyothorax, or cholangiogenic liver abscess, while using systemic antibiotics, actively incising and draining the abscess should be considered. (Please use medications and treatment under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Zhang Wei Wei
Integrative Medicine
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Will ferritin be high in hepatic abscess?

Will ferritin levels rise in cases of liver abscess? First, we need to understand the significance of ferritin testing. I can also tell you that ferritin does not necessarily increase during a liver abscess. The main form of iron in the body is present as serum ferritin. Clinically, its relationship with the aforementioned diseases is something we can discuss. The first one is related to iron-deficiency anemia. Generally, early stages of iron deficiency do not directly cause significant anemia, but they will lead to a reduction in iron stores. There are many methods for determining serum iron content in clinical laboratories, but none are as sensitive and reliable as serum ferritin. The second point is its relationship with tumors. Ferritin acts as a soluble tissue protein that stores iron in the body. It consists of a protein shell and an iron core, with the iron core having a strong capacity to bind and store iron, maintaining the supply of iron and the relative stability of hemoglobin. The liver is the site of synthesis of serum ferritin and also the organ that clears it. Normally, only a small amount is found in the serum, so during acute or chronic liver damage, or liver cancer, a noticeable increase occurs. Therefore, when liver abscesses affect liver function or cause destruction of liver cells, it can also lead to increased ferritin levels. However, in the early stages of a liver abscess, if treatment is proactive, ferritin levels might not increase.

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Written by Zhang Wei Wei
Integrative Medicine
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Does liver abscess have a connection with drinking alcohol?

Patients with liver abscesses are prohibited from drinking alcohol, because the main component of alcoholic beverages is ethanol, which needs to be metabolized by the liver and directly damages it. Excessive drinking can exacerbate the burden on the liver, worsening the condition. Therefore, patients with liver abscesses must absolutely avoid alcohol. If a patient insists on drinking, they should only do so in moderation three months after the abscess has healed. However, it is generally advised not to drink at all. It is beneficial for the liver if patients consume fresh vegetables and fruits and maintain a light diet, avoiding greasy and rich foods. This diet can also prevent the adhesion and aggregation of platelets, reduce the decline in white blood cells, and promote blood circulation and dispel stasis.