Although most people do drink alcohol the vast majority do so at lower risk levels and avoid the harms associated with alcohol. But alcohol can lead to a wide range of health and other problems and unfortunately many of the harms caused by alcohol are higher in Derbyshire than the averages for England. ❤️🩹
⚠️Alcohol can cause a wide range of health problems, and liver disease is one of the harms that most people have heard of. One of the problems with alcohol related liver disease is that people do not tend to know their liver is being damaged, it is a so called “silent illness”, alcohol related liver disease which means the liver can become damaged without noticeable symptoms. The liver doesn’t tend to complain much, it doesn’t have pain receptors so even when it is being damaged the person doesn’t know, and blood tests are not always a good way to identify liver disease either.
This is why we now use alternative ways to identify liver disease and tools like Fibroscans can help identify problems sooner.
Our Specialist Treatment Provider, the Derbyshire Recovery Partnership (DRP) offers Fibroscans as part of its support. This is a free, quick, non-invasive and painless scan that checks liver health by measuring stiffness and fat levels. It can detect alcohol related liver disease, at a much earlier stage, when simple changes to drinking can prevent permanent damage, if people seek help to make changes when needed and are vital to reducing alcohol related harm and mortality.
Derbyshire County Council has funded the expansion of Fibroscan access across all DRP bases, as well as in Chesterfield Hospital, acute mental health hospital and some primary care settings. These efforts are now allowing over a thousand people per year to gain access to this valuable scan and empowering them to make health choices about their drinking.
The good news is that there is always a benefit from reducing alcohol intake; cutting down can lower the risk of developing liver disease in the first place, it can stop existing liver disease from worsening, and even when a liver disease is at a more advanced stage, including cirrhosis, stopping or cutting back drinking can significantly improve life expectancy and overall health.
This Alcohol Awareness Week, we are asking you think about alcohol and you. Men and women are advised to not drink more than 14 units in any one week. The risks form alcohol increase with every unit consumed; a woman that regularly drinks 35 or more units of alcohol in a week, or a man that regularly drinks 50 or more units in a week are highly likely to experience health problems from their drinking.
Think about your drink, make choices that work for you, and ask for help if you need it!
If you need help:
📞01246 206514
🌐Recovery :: Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
📧Info@derbyshirerecoverypartnership.co.uk
