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Suggest Medical Tests To Rule Out Liver Disease
Brief Answer:
This isn't an accurate test:
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
Pushing on your liver under the right side of your rib cage is not an accurate test to assess whether you have liver disease.
To assess liver function, you would start with a blood test for level of liver enzymes via a liver panel. This should include AST, ALT, Alkaline Phosphatase, and Bilirubin.
When you have an exam and the doctor does an abdominal exam, part of it is to percuss for the sound of the patient's liver. This gives us an idea of the size of the liver as it may be an abnormal size in liver disease. But this is not as sensitive a test as a liver panel (described above). If you have a history of drinking alcohol, it is worth asking your doctor to check this test. If the liver enzymes are high she/he may have you make lifestyle modifications and then recheck again. Or if very high, she/he may order an abdominal ultrasound test to help visualize the liver.
If you want to be manually examining your liver, lie down on a flat surface on your back. Put the index or middle finger of your less dominant hand flatly on your abdomen and tap over that finger with the pad of the index finger of your other hand. Move the fingers up until you hear a note change - a duller sound. This is the bottom of your liver which may be a couple of finger breadths below the front of your right rib cage. You can do the same on your chest, tapping down until you hear a duller note which indicates the top of the liver.
But I would not advocate pushing on your liver as
1. You don't have experience doing this and may push too hard. And
2. It really won't provide you with worthwhile information.
So... go get your blood drawn for a liver panel/liver enzymes.
This isn't an accurate test:
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
Pushing on your liver under the right side of your rib cage is not an accurate test to assess whether you have liver disease.
To assess liver function, you would start with a blood test for level of liver enzymes via a liver panel. This should include AST, ALT, Alkaline Phosphatase, and Bilirubin.
When you have an exam and the doctor does an abdominal exam, part of it is to percuss for the sound of the patient's liver. This gives us an idea of the size of the liver as it may be an abnormal size in liver disease. But this is not as sensitive a test as a liver panel (described above). If you have a history of drinking alcohol, it is worth asking your doctor to check this test. If the liver enzymes are high she/he may have you make lifestyle modifications and then recheck again. Or if very high, she/he may order an abdominal ultrasound test to help visualize the liver.
If you want to be manually examining your liver, lie down on a flat surface on your back. Put the index or middle finger of your less dominant hand flatly on your abdomen and tap over that finger with the pad of the index finger of your other hand. Move the fingers up until you hear a note change - a duller sound. This is the bottom of your liver which may be a couple of finger breadths below the front of your right rib cage. You can do the same on your chest, tapping down until you hear a duller note which indicates the top of the liver.
But I would not advocate pushing on your liver as
1. You don't have experience doing this and may push too hard. And
2. It really won't provide you with worthwhile information.
So... go get your blood drawn for a liver panel/liver enzymes.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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