If you suffer from dry, yellowing or red, itchy skin, it may be more than just a bothersome skin condition. It could be a sign of poor liver health. Your liver, the largest glandular organ in your body, performs many vital functions, including producing bile to break down fat, making cholesterol, storing vitamins and minerals and filtering harmful substances from your blood. When your liver fails to function effectively, a variety of health problems can ensue, including skin conditions.
Jaundice
Your body continually produces new red blood cells to replace old ones. When red blood cells become old, your spleen removes them from circulation and the hemoglobin – an iron-rich protein that carries oxygen -- gets broken down into bilirubin. Normally, your liver filters the bilirubin from your blood and excretes it from the body with the bile. Liver damage or liver disease inhibits the ability of the liver to filter the bilirubin from the blood, and causes a buildup -- a condition known as jaundice. The excess bilirubin causes your skin and the whites of your eyes to yellow, and also leads to itchy skin. Although jaundice occurs most commonly in newborn infants, it can affect anyone at any age.
Rosacea
Rosacea is a skin condition that affects your facial skin, causing redness on the chin, nose, cheeks or forehead; acne-like bumps; and visible blood vessels. Rosacea affects 16 million people in the United States, but the exact cause remains unknown. Western medicine treats the symptoms of rosacea with a combination of medications, both oral and topical, and changes in lifestyle to avoid triggers, such as certain foods, sun exposure or hot baths. However, Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, believes that rosacea occurs due to poor liver health. The TCM approach treats rosacea by bringing the liver back into health through acupuncture, herbs and diet. These techniques may reduce your symptoms, but consult your doctor before trying any alternative therapies.
Dry Skin
Your liver plays a vital role in your digestion. It uses cholesterol to produce bile, which then travels to the small intestine to aid in the break down of fat. If the liver fails to produce or secrete enough bile, fat metabolism slows down, causing your overall metabolism – the conversion of food into energy and the use of that energy -- to slow down. In general, a slow metabolism causes dry skin, according to the National Skin Care Institute.
Glucose Imbalance
Your liver also converts excess glucose -- the simple sugar that serves as the main source of energy for your body -- into glycogen to store for later use as energy. Conditions that affect liver function, such as liver disease, cause glucose levels to become too high or too low, which can contribute to dry, itchy skin. Because your liver plays a role in balancing blood glucose levels, a healthy liver is important for those with diabetes, a chronic medical condition characterized by too much glucose in the blood. Approximately one-third of those who suffer from diabetes develop skin conditions that range from mildly itchy skin to the formation of brown, scaly patches to the eruption of boils or blisters.
