Just staying off alcohol for two to three days at a time, avoiding fatty foods and taking regular exercise are great ways to Love Your Liver. Use this website to discover more tips and details of our Love Your Liver Roadshows in January 2012.
The British Liver Trust is based in Ringwood, Hampshire and has a small but dedicated team tackling a serious and growing public health problem affecting around two million people in the UK.
We have dedicated resources for people with liver disease like our website, helpline and publications. Our aim is to reach out to as many people as possible by providing information and support, and lobbying for the services people with liver disease need. We have strong contacts with professionals in the field of hepatology that enable us to provide the most up to date information.
We send out many hundreds of thousands of our patient leaflets each year. These publications provide valuable information on a range of liver diseases.
They explain how the liver works, how illness occurs, how it is prevented and detail both available and potential options for treatment. Our leaflets also provide a useful list of further support organisations and resources to help you to manage your condition. We are constantly expanding these publications across a range of languages.
Our advice is intended to complement that given by healthcare professionals. We are now publishing guides for health professionals themselves as part of our drive to improve the general awareness of liver disease in the wider healthcare community.
All patient information is either written or reviewed by leading medical experts. All draft leaflets are read by people with personal experience of liver disease for their feedback. In this way our publication process ensures that the advice we provide to you is up to date, accurate and explained in language that is easy to understand.
The British Liver Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales (298858), Scotland (SC042140) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales (2227706).
The Love Your Liver roadshow will see the British Liver Trust take to the road to offer pop up liver clinics.
Come and get your liver health checked out. There will be liver specialists on hand to test your liver, offer handy tips on looking after your liver and a chance to taste some alcohol free wine, courtesy of Eisberg.
Love Your Liver will be visiting these cities in January:
| 16/01/2012 |
GLASGOW |
Silverburn Shopping Centre, Glasgow, G53 6QR |
| 17/01/2012 |
LIVERPOOL |
Liverpool One - Paradise Place, L3 4AA |
| 18/01/2012 |
BIRMINGHAM |
Bullring Shopping Centre - Rotunda Square, B5 4BU |
| 19/01/2012 |
LONDON |
Brent Cross Shopping Centre, NW4 3FP |
| 20/01/2012 |
EXETER |
Guildhall Shopping Centre, EX4 3HP |
The roadshow is the first of its kind, giving you the opportunity to learn about the liver and get tips on how to love your liver. It also gives you a chance to get your liver tested through a Fibroscan, a non-invasive and painless test that measures how stiff your liver is. The Fibroscan helps to detect any signs of damage that will need further investigation. It’s only available in some NHS hospitals, but only if you’ve been referred to a specialist with abnormal liver-function tests.
Eisberg is a key supporter of the Love Your Liver Roadshow, making it easier to challenge yourself to give up alcohol for a few days a week.
Sign up to the Love Your Liver challenge at facebook.com/eisbergwine for your chance to win a luxury spa break for two worth up to £1,000.
There are many ways you can love your liver and help it function at its best, including:
TAKE 2-3 DAYS IN A ROW OFF ALCOHOL
This will keep your total intake down and gives your liver time to recover. Providing your liver has no lasting damage, it can repair itself very quickly can take as little as 24 hrs to go back to normal. Why not try the Love Your Liver Challenge.
STAY SLIM
Eat well and exercise regularly. If you are overweight you increase your risk of liver disease by three times if you drink alcohol too. Cutting down on your daily food indulgences and not overloading on sugary drinks will all help to optimise your liver function.
FEELING CONSTANTLY TIRED?
Go to your GP and ask for a liver function test. Your liver has no nerve endings so finds it hard to complain when something is wrong, get it checked out if you feel you have pushed the boundaries on a regular basis with alcohol and fatty foods.
DON’T LET IT GET TO THE STAGE WHERE YOU TURN YELLOW:
None of us want to look like Homer Simpson even if we may secretly admire some of his qualities. Many patients do end up looking like Homer (yellow and swollen) exactly because of those habits – beer, junk food and no exercise. Looking after your liver is not complicated and it’s easy to prevent – it’s just like looking after the rest of your body.
REMEMBER YOUR ABCs:
If you are planning to travel abroad visit your GP or local travel clinic first to see if you need to get vaccinated to protect yourself from hepatitis A and B. Hepatitis A, B and C can be picked up abroad by having unprotected sex or getting a tattoo in destinations where hygiene standards are questionable.
EVER NEEDED A BLOOD TRANSFUSION?
This could have been after a caesarean at the birth of your child or a severe accident. If so, check the date of when you did. If it was before 1991 when blood wasn’t screened for viral hepatitis you could have hepatitis without even knowing. Go to your GP and ask to be tested.
For more tips, health advice and information about the liver, visit the British Liver Trust website: www.britishlivertrust.org.uk
