Symptom 7. The Silent Signal: Easy Bruising and Bleeding
Have you noticed that you bruise more easily than before? Or that minor cuts take longer to stop bleeding? These could be signs that your liver isn’t functioning as well as it should. The liver plays a crucial role in clotting, so when it’s damaged by cirrhosis, it can’t produce clotting factors as efficiently, leading to easy bruising and prolonged bleeding. But what exactly happens here?
The liver is a bit of a multitasker. Among its many functions, it produces proteins necessary for blood clotting. When the liver is healthy, it ensures that we have just the right amount of these clotting factors in our blood. However, when cirrhosis comes into the picture, the liver’s ability to produce these factors is compromised.
This imbalance in clotting factors means that minor bumps can result in large bruises. It also means that small cuts might bleed for longer than usual. You might also notice that your gums bleed when you brush your teeth or that you get nosebleeds more frequently. These are all signs that your blood isn’t clotting as efficiently as it should. (7)
