The gallbladder is considered one of the special organs that can conceal and present surprises. They manifest as sudden bouts of severe pain in the abdomen on the right side in the area of the ribs, which is known as “biliary colic.”
The gall bladder is a kind of reservoir that accumulates and stores bile until a certain point, and then discards it for digestion.
With poor “storage” or “stagnation” of bile, its composition changes. Further, it all depends on how far the process has gone.
Causes of colic
However, the onset of colic is a malfunction of the normal contractions of the bile – either strongly and quickly, or slowly and weakly. Both of these pathologies provoke improper bile secretion and a change in the composition of bile, and in the future everything ends with the formation of stones.
As a rule, this occurs due to malnutrition, when overeating or eating fried, smoked and fatty foods. In other people, biliary diseases appear due to elevated cholesterol, hormonal imbalance, taking special medications, and heredity. Functional disorders of the bile can cause:
- emotional stress;
- nerve stress
- stressful situations.
Therefore, most often the last stage is cholelithiasis. She, as a rule, develops in the fairer sex after a critical age. Although today the pathologies of the gallbladder have become “younger” and very often even children suffer from them!
Symptoms of Gallbladder Problems
Pain under the ribs or on the upper abdomen is most often caused by diseases of the stomach or bile, and sometimes the intestines. It is very difficult to distinguish between them independently. With palpation of the abdomen, the doctor easily determines the cause of the onset of symptoms. A clue may be the connection with the use of food: the occurrence of symptoms after eating indicates that the problem is associated with the bile or stomach. In the absence of manifestations associated with food, it can be assumed that there are problems with the intestines.
Of the typical symptoms of gallbladder disease, discomfort or pain in the upper abdomen or on the right under the ribs, which are often associated with eating, should be mentioned. Many patients experience nausea, bitterness in the mouth, a feeling of heaviness under the ribs, or aching pain. Most often they occur if you provoke the gallbladder with smoked meats, fried, fatty and spicy dishes. But they can also appear a few days after a course of antibiotics, antiviral and fungal drugs.
Features of the course of the disease
The development of chronic cholecystitis occurs for a long time and slowly. Makes pain and discomfort in the abdomen. For the acute form, more severe symptoms are inherent, fever, due to pain, a person in a sitting position bends and clings to his right side all the time. Sometimes these pains are given in the back. These symptoms are the same for most people.
Cholecystitis is an inflammation of the gallbladder, accompanied by malfunctions of contractions and bile secretion. If the normal secretion of bile is disturbed , the pressure in the bubble rises, and bile is concentrated and thickened. Lumps, clots, flakes appear in it, which subsequently crystallize into gallstones. If the disease is not treated, it becomes acute or stones appear in the bladder. This sequential change of stages is called the “bile continuum.”
Lifestyle does not have a special effect on the state of biliary or the development of inflammation in it. Of great importance is:
- food,
- the use of drugs excreted with bile.
The importance in this issue is given to the relationship of stress and increased anxiety with contractions of the bile. Often, emotional stress or nervous shocks can cause the development of the disease.
Diet for cholecystitis
With gall pathology, diet table No. 5 is recommended. It is also prescribed for diseases of the liver and pancreas. The diet for stomach or intestinal diseases differs from that prescribed for pathologies of the gallbladder. Restrictions are set for the use of fatty, fried and spicy foods, as well as smoked meats and spirits. Today, a special mobile application “Table No5” has been developed, which sets out in detail all the issues related to proper nutrition.
Treatment of cholecystitis
Acute periods of pancreatitis due to cholelithiasis are treated with hunger and cold. Therefore, such a stereotype takes place. Treatment with hunger is sometimes prescribed for biliary colic. If cholecystitis worsens, drugs are prescribed whose action is aimed at restoring contractions of the gallbladder, as well as ursosan containing ursodeoxycholic acid.
At the initial stage, antispasmodics are prescribed – drotaverin, gimekromon, mebeverin. Subsequently, prokinetics – Itomed are prescribed, however, they are not recommended for gallstone disease, only in the initial stages. Thanks to these drugs, biliary excretion is normalized.
The use of choleretic drugs without ultrasound data is prohibited! Medication is prescribed by a doctor after an examination!
In some cases, diseases of other organs can cause the development of cholecystitis. Most often, due to the swelling of the “exit” of the biliary tract, duodenitis develops, in which the secretion of bile is disturbed. This causes an increase in pressure in the gallbladder, the formation of stones and inflammation in it. Excessive growth of bacteria in the intestine can provoke the development of cholecystitis and loss of bile functions. This condition can develop due to food poisoning, with prolonged constipation or diarrhea, as well as inflammation in the intestines and diverticular disease.