Liver weakness

Galen says: “A liverwort is a person whose liver functions are weak in the absence of an external cause - a tumor or an abscess.” In reality, weakness of the liver accompanies liver disease and occurs either from a disorder of the simple nature without matter, or from a disorder with matter. The source of the disorder is either the liver itself or other organs that are adjacent to the liver. Such, for example, is the gall bladder if it ceases to attract yellow bile, or the spleen if it ceases to attract black bile, or the kidneys and bladder if they do not attract aqueous humor, or the uterus when it bleeds heavily and the liver becomes cold, or when menstruation is firmly locked and the blood in the liver spoils as a result, or the stomach, when it does not send well-digested chyle to the liver, and what it sends to eat, on the contrary, is chyle, poorly digested or spoiled. The cause of liver weakness is also the intestines, if they hurt or there is a lot of viscous juice in them, which forms a blockage between the intestines and the gall bladder, so that the bile does not leave the liver and the liver remains overcrowded and does not accept the blood released into it; this often happens during kulanj. Weakness of the liver also occurs due to the involvement of the thoracic organs or the whole body, as occurs with fevers. Sometimes it occurs not due to a mere disorder of nature, but due to a blood tumor, erysipelas, hardening, cancer, loosening, ulcer, rupture or putrefaction that occurs in the liver. With complete weakness of the liver, all its forces are weakened, but often the weakness is incomplete and occurs only in relation to one of the four forces. The attracting and digestive power is most often weakened by cold and humidity, the retaining power by moisture, and the expelling power by dryness.

Signs. Complexion is one of those things that in most cases indicates the condition of the liver. In a liverwort, the complexion most often has a yellowish or pale tint, and sometimes it is green or brown, as we mentioned in the paragraph about the signs of the condition of the liver. If you see that a person’s complexion is extremely healthy, it means there is no defect in his liver. An experienced doctor immediately recognizes the liverwort and the stomacher by their complexion, and, for example, he does not need other signs; This complexion does not have a special suitable name that would indicate it. Feces and urine similar to meat slop in most cases indicate that the liver does not have great power in the generation of blood, does not secrete its substance from the chyle and its pure part from the aqueous humor, and this is most often a sign of weakness of the liver. Such bowel movements in the form of slop at the end of the disease take on a different appearance. With a hot nature, they become purulent, then they become like wine grounds and burnt blood, and before this there is often relief from pure bile, and with a cold nature of the liver, the stool becomes like rotting blood. Both lead to the passage of feces of varying quality and composition, especially if the liver is cold, and this is the case as happens when the digestive power of the stomach is weak. Most of those who have liver weakness constantly and especially when passing food experience mild pain extending to the short rib. A conclusion is drawn about the properties of the liver’s nature based on the main features indicated in the paragraph on recognizing a disorder of the liver’s nature. Hot nature causes the juices to burn, cold makes the juices thick and slow to move, dry makes them lean and thick, wet makes them watery.

Weakness of the liver, depending on the gallbladder, is sometimes indicated by a jaundiced complexion. This often results in white stool if there is a blockage between the gallbladder and the intestines. As for the weakness of the liver due to the complicity of the spleen, this is inferred from diseases of the spleen and from the complexion of the face, in which a dark color predominates, and about weakness of gastric origin - from damage to the stomach and indigestion. Weakness depending on the intestines is indicated by intestinal cramps, winds, rumbling, kulanji and similar signs; weakness due to the kidneys and bladder is indicated by a change in the color of the urine in comparison with the proper natural color and the manifestation in the form of “digestion disorder” and dropsy. Weakness arising from the chest organs is indicated by respiratory distress and a dry cough; sometimes the patient feels heaviness and tension in the area of ​​the suspensory ligaments. As for the signs of tumors, hardening, ulcers, ruptures and other things, we will mention them all in their place and we will need to return to this.

Indications of the weakness of the digestive power of the liver are that the nutrient passing to the organs turns out to be undigested, poorly digested or poorly digested and changes, acquiring a bad quality. This often causes the eyes and face to swell, and the blood that comes out when bleeding becomes somewhat watery and slimy, unless, of course, it is due to a weakness of the retaining power, which does not hold the food until it is completely digested. The worst thing is if the food is not digested at all, then if it is only slightly digested, and then if it is poorly digested. One of the doctors said: “In the first two cases it is accompanied by thin stool consisting of heterogeneous parts, and in the third case by stool like thick blood,” but these are words not based on research. Stools in the form of meat slop indicate weakness of digestion with little digestion, while solid white ones indicate that the attracting force is very weak, and the digestive force does not cook at all, especially if the food comes out the same as it came in. If something heterogeneous comes out, this indicates indigestion. In these relationships, urine rather indicates a weakness of the digestive force, and feces - a weakness of the attracting force. As for the signs of weakness of the attractive force, this is an abundance of feces, its softness and colorlessness. If urine. has any coloration, this is a sign that the damage affected only the attracting force, especially if there is no damage in the stomach, and the weakness of the attracting force causes emaciation of the body. Signs of weakness of the retaining force are signs of weakness of the digestive force, depending on the insufficient retention of food, as a result of which food that is not adequately ripe reaches the organs; in relation to other signs they reason in the same way, but the dependence on the digestive force is greater here, and on the retaining force - less. A special sign of weak holding power is that after the passage of food, the feeling of fullness of the liver, felt by a slight heaviness, quickly disappears. As for the signs of weakness of the expelling force, the secretion of three types of excess decreases and the amount of urine decreases; at the same time, its coloration decreases, as does the coloration of feces. The need to get up to defecate is also reduced, black bile does not rush into the spleen, and the appetite for food decreases because of this. There is flabbiness in the appearance and complexion and at the same time yellowness and darkness, mixed with pallor. Such weakness often leads to dropsy, and sometimes also leads to mucous ulcer.

Treatment of liver weakness. It is necessary to accurately recognize the cause of weakness - whether it depends on nature, on disease of the instrument or on another cause, judging by the signs that we have mentioned - and treat each disease with the remedies mentioned in connection with it. Most often, weakness of the liver occurs due to some coldness or humidity or dryness of nature, as well as due to the presence of malignant juices locked in it; therefore, it is most often treated with gentle warming, at the same time promoting the opening of blood vessels, ripening of juices and softening of the body, combined with strengthening binding and prevention of decay. The most often used are fragrant medicines that have the ability to open, cause ripening and bind, for example, saffron; Sometimes sweet and sour things that have a somewhat astringent property also help: with their acid they strengthen the liver and draw out juices, and due to their sweetness they cleanse and open the blood vessels; This is how pomegranate seeds work, for example. In this case, you must keep in mind the degree of warmth or coldness of the liver, depending on what the state of nature requires, and combine with such medicines something warming or cooling; This category includes raisins with seeds, if you chew them well. If any impulse forces you to resort to dissolving juices, then do not use it for tumors, blockages and other diseases without simultaneous binding, unless your nature is very dry. Sometimes we have to, due to the retention of juices in the liver, bleed and cause relaxation commensurate with the quality of the matter. If it is cold, viscous, then we loosen it, for example, with agaric, and if it is rather liquid in composition and somewhat hot and there are blockages, then we loosen it with squeezed juice of saplings and bitter wormwood, to which something else is mixed to help remove the juices.

Often this causes frequent weakening of the stomach and diarrhea, and the doctor rushes to use astringent medications and thereby causes great harm. In this case, on the contrary, we should use opening and strengthening agents that bind moderately, but open considerably, and, in particular, fragrant medicines, especially boiled in fragrant wine with some astringent property. Among the remedies that are common for various types of liver weakness and act due to their special properties is wolf liver, grated and dried; it is taken one milaka with wine. When one wants to treat the liver with the means appropriate to it, one should turn to the milk of Arabian foal camels. Among the good medicines for liver weakness is a medicine of this kind: take washed lac and Chinese rhubarb root - three parts each, squeezed sapling juice, fennel seeds, quinoa seeds - five parts each, Rum wormwood - six dirhams, chicory seeds - ten dirhams, dodder seeds - eight dirhams, celery seeds - four dirhams; Cakes or powders are prepared from this. Here is another praiseworthy medicine delivered ahead of others. Recipe: they take seeded raisins - twenty-five dirhams - and they say: misqal, saffron - misqal, in some recipes - half a misqal, fragrant cane - two misqal, Jewish bdeliya - two and a half misqal, Chinese cinnamon - misqal, Ceylon cinnamon - half a miskal, sumbul - three miskals, aromatic rush - two and a half miskals, myrrh - four miskals, gorse - two miskals, honey - sixteen miskals, wine - a sufficient amount; Sometimes opium and henbane seeds are also added to the composition.

Galen states that this medicine is composed of substances suitable for the liver due to their special properties. Some of them moderately bind and promote ripening, others dry up putrefaction and cleanse malignant pus, some correct bad nature, and some resist putrefaction. Most of them are fragrant spices, such as Chinese cinnamon and Ceylon cinnamon; they resist decay, correct nature, expel the cause of corruption, absorb and expel malignant juice and resist deadly drugs and poisons. At the same time, Chinese cinnamon has a stronger effect than Ceylon cinnamon, and both of these medicines in this regard are stronger than all other fragrant medicines, such as sumbula and others. Gorse and saffron combine in themselves the power of binding, causing ripening, softening and correcting putrefaction; As for the raisins, they are put in relatively less weight in order to weaken their sweetness and so that they are more suitable in this case. Raisins are one of the medicines that are friendly and appropriate to the liver, and such friendliness is one of the best properties of a medicine that brings benefits; In addition, it promotes ripening, softens, balances the state of juices and does not quickly decompose in the stomach.

Wine is also a suitable medicine, if there is no obstacle to its use as mentioned before; it has the ability to resist rotting.

You know the properties of honey. Bdelium softens, ripens and dissolves in the same way as turpentine tree resin, which also has the ability to open blockages and cleanse. A medicine containing opium and henbane seeds is also of great benefit if the weakness of the liver is combined with fever; Therefore, filunia is involved in the benefits for various types of liver weakness and is used in various recipes. Here is a useful medicine that does not get too hot: take spikenard - three parts and Rum wormwood - two parts, grind, bind with honey and give to drink. In poultices, well-known fragrant medicines are used, boiled with astringent fragrant wine; sometimes ks?k is added to them, and sometimes spikenard oil is added. All this is placed on a woolen rag and a poultice is made. They also use the medicinal dressing mentioned in the Pharmacopoeia, which includes the juice of unripe grapes, the juice of fresh grape stems and roses, and all the medicinal dressings and poultices mentioned in the paragraph on weak stomach, as well as complex dressings of syt, mastic, frankincense, sumbula, sukka, musk, cypress cones, aromatic rush inflorescences and known seeds, mixed with maysusan and similar substances, and the medicinal dressings that follow it, as well as a dressing consisting of sabur and mastic.

When liver weakness occurs due to heat - and this happens rarely, not in the vast majority of cases - patients should be prescribed to eat quince, Syrian apples, Chinese pears, pomegranates, sweet and sour and sour, if there are not many blockages in the liver, and drink juice chicory and nightshade juice. They are also ordered to take broth prepared with coriander from the sikbaj from which the fat has been strained; if the heat is not strong, then the broth is seasoned with Chinese cinnamon, sumbul and mastic. Meat marinades richly seasoned with fresh coriander and a small amount of mint are also suitable for such patients. If the heat is not strong, then the mentioned spices are placed in them. If you see that the influence of the weakness of the liver is directed towards the digestive power, then you strengthen the liver with drugs that have to some extent an astringent property and a fragrant odor, as well as the ability to cause ripening; These are the medicines that include sumbul, nutmeg, nutmeg, incense, mastic, fragrant cane, syt and the like. If the weakness is directed towards the holding power, you increase the strengthening and astringent properties and reduce the warming, or you combine with such drugs drugs that counteract them and cause cooling, for example, pomegranate, rose, tarasis. If weakness manifests itself in attractive power, you strengthen the liver with substances whose astringent properties are much less, and even those that are astringent only enough to preserve the strength of the liver; but, however, they have a fragrant smell and warm. Try to treat such patients with medicinal bandages, then with ointments and rubs: they are more suitable for such a place. Also make an effort to open blockages. If weakness manifests itself in the expelling force, then strengthen it and warm the corresponding place, I mean the kidneys and entrails, in ways that you will learn in the corresponding paragraph, and also open the pores.

Know that any weakness of the liver sometimes arises from any disorder of nature. It is often necessary to cool the liver so that it digests chyle and attracts nutrients; consider, then, what is the prevailing disorder of nature before considering the weakness of the liver. However, the reason that digestion becomes insufficient is most often cold; the same applies to attracting nutrients. The most suitable food for such patients is one in which there is no coarseness and viscosity, such as, for example, light varieties of meat, non-glutinous wheat, barley water - for a person with a hot nature, as it is, and for someone with a cold nature - with honey, and also soft-boiled egg yolks and the like. One of the stews that is very useful for them is the soup with pomegranate seeds and raisins, if it is seasoned with Chinese cinnamon and pepper. Fat raisins are also very useful for them; he even delays the relief with stools that look like meat slop.