Unlike viral hepatitis, such as hepatitis A, B or C, alcoholic hepatitis is not contagious. While viral hepatitis can be spread from person to person, alcoholic hepatitis is strictly related to alcohol use and individual risk factors. Early diagnosis and treatment are key to stopping the progression of liver disease. The first step toward getting well starts with being open about your alcohol use. A liver transplant may be required in severe cases where the liver has stopped functioning and does not improve when you stop drinking alcohol. Less commonly, alcoholic hepatitis can occur if you drink a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time (binge drinking).

A healthcare provider will examine you and ask about your health history. But understanding how much alcohol you drink helps your provider make the right diagnosis. When too much of your liver tissue is damaged, your liver functions start to fail (liver failure). In compensated cirrhosis, the liver remains functioning, and many people have no symptoms. The median life expectancy from this point is 10 to 12 years. Cirrhosis is considered end stage liver disease as it cannot be reversed and can lead to liver failure.

Medical

Over time, the liver of a person who drinks heavily can become damaged and cause alcoholic liver disease. If you stop drinking alcohol for some time (months or years), your liver should return to normal. The life expectancy of a person with alcoholic liver disease reduces dramatically as the condition progresses. Typically, only people who can show at least 6 months of abstinence from alcohol before the procedure will be suitable candidates for a transplant. Quitting alcohol and treating this condition early on is the best way for a person to increase their chances of reversing or slowing the disease. In people with liver failure, the liver completely ceases to function.

• A liver transplant may be required in severe cases where the liver has stopped functioning and does not improve when you stop drinking alcohol.
• The guidelines classify moderate drinking up to one drink a day for females, and up to two drinks for males, and only over the age of 21 years.
• Scarring may become more severe over time, leading to cirrhosis.
• Continuing to drink alcohol after being diagnosed with alcoholic hepatitis greatly increases the risk of liver failure and death.
• Corticosteroids or pentoxifylline may help reduce inflammation in people with acute alcoholic hepatitis while receiving hospital treatment.

Treating alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD)

Alcoholic hepatitis, which is unrelated to infectious hepatitis, is a potentially serious condition that can be caused by alcohol misuse over a longer period. Drinking a large amount of alcohol, even for just a few days, can lead to a build-up of fats in the liver. The guidelines classify moderate drinking up to one drink a day for females, and up to two drinks for males, and only over the age of 21 years. Usually, the liver helps remove bilirubin from the blood and sends it out through the bile ducts into the intestines. But when the liver is damaged and can’t work properly, bilirubin starts to build up in the blood, causing the yellow color. Yellowing of the skin might be harder to see depending on skin color.

What Stages Aren’t Reversible?

The largest organ inside the body, the liver is located mainly in the upper right portion of the abdomen, beneath the diaphragm and above the stomach. Learn more about the Health Library and our editorial process.

Once you have cirrhosis, your life expectancy is generally two to 15 years from diagnosis. Although 90% of people who drink heavily develop fatty liver disease, only 20% to 40% will go on to develop alcoholic hepatitis. Fatty liver disease can also develop after binge drinking, which is defined as drinking four to five drinks in two hours or less. About 90% of heavy drinkers will develop alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Abstinence

Jaundice happens when a substance called bilirubin builds up in the body. Bilirubin is a yellow-colored waste product made when red blood cells break down. Your healthcare provider may also test you for individual nutrient deficiencies.

• Doctors may also recommend weight loss and quitting smoking as excess weight and smoking have both demonstrated a role in worsening alcoholic liver disease.
• See our alcohol advice pages for more information and support.
• Alcoholic hepatitis usually progresses to cirrhosis if a person continues to drink alcohol.
• Your provider knows it’s not always easy to share personal information like alcohol use.

ARLD does not usually cause any symptoms until the liver has been severely damaged. Not smoking and controlling body weight are significant lifestyle changes people can make to further reduce the risk. Antirejection medications after transplant can increase the risk of serious infections and certain cancers.

There Alcoholic Liver Disease may be no symptoms, or symptoms may come on slowly. Symptoms tend to be worse after a period of heavy drinking. Alcoholic liver disease is damage to the liver and its function due to alcohol abuse. The number of people with the condition has been increasing over the last few decades as a result of increasing levels of alcohol misuse.

When Does Alcoholic Liver Disease Cause Symptoms?

Cirrhosis is further categorized as compensated and decompensated. A CT scan of the upper abdomen showing a fatty liver (steatosis of the liver). Note the liver enlargement and dark color compared with the spleen (gray body in lower right).

Alcohol-associated Liver Disease updated July 2019

People who have progressed to alcoholic hepatitis or cirrhosis most likely will not be able to reverse the disease. Early damage to the liver causes fat to deposit onto the liver, resulting in hepatic steatosis, or alcoholic fatty liver disease. Fatty liver disease often has no symptoms and can usually be reversed. Alcoholic liver disease most often occurs after years of heavy drinking.

Typical liver versus liver cirrhosis

Alcoholic liver disease does not occur in all heavy drinkers. The chances of getting liver disease go up the longer you have been drinking and more alcohol you consume. Corticosteroids or pentoxifylline may help reduce inflammation in people with acute alcoholic hepatitis while receiving hospital treatment. Alcoholic hepatitis usually progresses to cirrhosis if a person continues to drink alcohol.