Black bile: symptoms, significance, causes, necessary diagnosis and treatment

Migraine and apathy, a feeling of heaviness on the right under the ribs are unpleasant manifestations of a dysfunction of the gallbladder. For some, this is complemented by another symptom of considerable concern - vomiting of black bile. The cause of this phenomenon may be biliary stasis. The pathological condition only indicates the presence of some health disorders, is not a disease in itself, but it can be corrected by improving the condition of the body as a whole.

Relevance of the issue

A relatively large percentage of the population of our planet thinks about why black bile is sooner or later, because many people are concerned about the stagnation of this organic fluid. Bile is one of the most important fluids present in the human body. Its value is not less than the inherent blood, no more important than lymph. Fluid is responsible for the performance of the digestive system. At its expense, the rhythm of muscle contractions of the intestinal tract is regulated, that is, peristalsis is stabilized. Thanks to bile, the absorption processes of indispensable ingredients are more active. The structure of this substance secreted by internal systems corrects cholesterol metabolism and reactions that occur with the participation of other lipids. The energy supply of the body in general depends on this.

The predominance of black bile is possible in case of stagnation. According to some experts in the field of medicine, if you manage to adjust the work of internal organs so that the bile brightens and becomes more fluid, is generated strictly during meals, you can prevent almost all diseases of the digestive tract. A person who has no difficulties with the gallbladder and its contents does not suffer from excess weight, an excess of cholesterol is not found in the body.

hippocratic black bile

About problems

A significant health problem is stagnation associated with bile. This secret may be generated in the wrong amount. Perhaps untimely discharge of the contents of the gallbladder. There is a danger of spasmodic events. All these conditions adversely affect the functioning of the organism as a whole. Sometimes symptoms indicate the presence of stones or a focus of chronic infection.

Problems with bile almost always lead to impaired stool. Many suffering from such malfunctions of internal systems feel unwell, their condition is often lethargic. It is noted that with an unhealthy gall bladder, a person ages much faster. This is due to the accelerated development of atherosclerosis and the early manifestation of primary symptoms.

Causes and consequences

Finding out why black bile is worth organizing a full examination of the body. For a long time, the connection between the work of the gastrointestinal tract, the mental and emotional status of a person and the composition of the contents of the gallbladder has been known. The quality of the substance in question determines the performance of the liver. The ability of the body to transform nutrient compounds into substances necessary for the formation of internal structures depends on this. Therefore, the quality of bile determines the ability to absorb proteins and accumulate energy, which can subsequently be spent. Bile is a secret produced by internal organs, due to which the liver cleanses the circulatory system of toxic compounds.

Bile is generated by the liver, the ducts move into the bladder, where it accumulates. When there is a need for an ejection (this occurs when food is absorbed), the internal secretion is sent to the digestive tract in order to mix with the incoming food - in this form they are transferred to the intestinal tract. The secretion from the bladder intended for its accumulation is caused by muscle contractions of the cavity walls.

black bile

Anatomy and physiology

Black bile, indicating stagnation, appears when the internal systems are not working properly. These may be associated with the inability of the secret to normally move within the body. Bile, pushed out of the bladder, must pass through several sphincters to prevent movement back on the way to the intestinal tract. The management of these elements is entrusted to the brain structures and nervous system. In violation of the tone, stagnation is possible.

When a patient is examined, cell malfunctions are often explained by dietary errors. More often stagnation of bile is observed when an excess of animal fats is obtained. Similar effects are possible with the bulk intake of high-calorie foods rich in chemicals. Violations of the nervous system are possible, which also lead to stagnation. Neurotic conditions, stress factors, and excessive fatigue impair the quality of the autonomic nervous system that controls the functioning of internal structures. A spasmodic phenomenon develops, from which the bile outflow slows down.

Who is threatened?

Black bile in the body associated with congestion often bothers those who eat instant foods. Stagnation threatens those who eat a lot of starchy foods, eat animal protein and fatty structures, while in the diet of such a person there is little vegetable and porridge, there are practically no other sources of fiber.

Stagnation threatens those who are too tired at work and often face stress factors, prone to anger, or prone to get upset. Stagnation is haunted by people with poor quality of sleep, a tendency to headache. Often, problems with bile are detected with VVD, other diseases of the nervous system, hepatitis, parasitic invasion, and hepatic fatty degeneration.

Stagnation threatens those who rarely eat, consume a plentiful dinner.

black bile in the body

What to do?

If vomiting of black bile is observed or other signs indicating congestion are disturbing, you should consult a doctor to select the appropriate therapeutic program. A variety of drugs are used. Antispasmodics will benefit. Such remedies help to eliminate duct spasms. Popular drugs:

  • No-Shpa.
  • "Baralgin."

Soothing with a weak effect will help - vegetable recommended. You can take valerian tincture. To improve the outflow of bile, choleretic are indicated. Hofitol and Allohol have proven themselves well.

Additionally, massage will be beneficial. Manual procedures stimulate the outflow of secretions. A similar result gives a physiotherapy course. Such manipulations are indicated in remission.

The psyche and internal organs

According to Hippocrates, black bile is melancholy. Depression as a phenomenon became known only recently, since the term was introduced in the nineteenth century. About two millennia in a row, thoughtfulness and mental disturbance were indicated by the word that was invented by a Greek scientist who lived around 460-370 BC. In ancient times, people, like today, suffered from mental disorders, including depressive disorders. It is known that the ancient Egyptian priests for four millennia before the beginning of our era already treated those who pathologically yearned. Ancient Indian healers believed that the reason for everything was obsession, and people were trained in a special way so that they expelled evil forces from their compatriots.

In the "Iliad" you can find a description of a person suffering from depression. Pythagoras in his works recommended that in an acute attack, withdraw from society in order to calm down. It was he who first invented the treatment of music. Pythagoras advised listening to Hesiod's hymns. Democritus recommended analyzing the past in order to get rid of passions, which are the root of evil.

treatment of black bile avicenna

Antiquity and approaches to the problem

As already mentioned, according to Hippocrates, “black bile” is melancholy, a condition accompanied by despondency, thoughtfulness, and sometimes mental illness. But there was another definition. The melancholic ancient doctor designated one of the four temperaments of a person in whose body black bile predominates. According to him, people in this category avoid society and fear the light. He described melancholy as a feeling of fear and cowardice, for a long time harassing a person. For a long time, a person forced to fight sadness and fear is faced with typical disorders that accompany the secretion of black bile - loss of appetite, problems with sleep. Such a person is worried and annoyed by the little things, often discouraged for no reason.

Already in ancient times, people guessed that the reason for everything should be sought in the human brain - this can be concluded by studying the work of not only Hippocrates, but also Avicenna. Hippocrates believed that the treatment of black bile should begin with the brain, which makes a person crazy, alarmed, frightened.

predominance of black bile

Plato and Cicero

In the works of Plato there is a description of mania as a crazy state. The same word denotes inspiration. Mania was called such a frenzy, the cause of which was delight because of the muse. That is how the great poets supposedly received strength for creativity. Comparing the black man suffering from black bile an inspired person and a layman, people of antiquity considered the former to be preferable and possessing advantages.

In the writings of Cicero, one can find reflections on the interconnectedness of fear, longing and evil impulses. Fear, as this thinker believed, is a reflection on the impending evil, while longing is devoted to what is already there, as well as to what happened, which left a heavy mark. All these unrest, characteristic of melancholy - “black bile” - as if attacking a person, making human life unreasonable - such conclusions were made by Cicero.

It is important!

Already in the writings of Cicero, the state, which in ancient times was explained by black bile, is compared with torture. The frightened person is depressed, and the grieving one is exhausted and tormented by thoughts, laments and sees the world distorted. This leads to insanity, self-destruction, the destruction of the mind. Similar conclusions were made by Chrysippius, whose interpretation of the phenomenon of melancholy was reduced to independent corruption of a person by his own forces. Homer speaks of melancholy as an attempt to retire. At that time, the luminaries of medicine knew that curing the body was not difficult, but there were no medicines for the soul.

As can be learned from the work of Avicenna, black bile is an attempt to evade the normal path of development. Melancholy, in his opinion, was a manifestation of fright, corruption, violations. The scientist defined this condition as excessive thoughtfulness and a tendency to obsessions. He suggested that people suffering from black bile be identified by their gaze — such either is fixed on the ground, or is fixated on some object. However, a person suffers from sleep disturbances, often looks sad.

why black bile

Middle Ages and a change of outlook

In medieval Europe, experiences were usually divided into virtuous and vicious. Despair, which was widely used at that time, was a word that hid the vicious state of mind of a person's doubt in the grace of a divine essence. This also included apathy, negligence. Apathy was almost synonymous with sadness. In the thirteenth century, such a spiritual state was associated with biliary spillage. The term “melancholy”, introduced by Hippocrates, is gradually a thing of the past, replaced by longing, apathy.

In 1497, Fernel was born, in the future - the luminary of science of that time. He characterized melancholy as madness and fever and explained by brain exhaustion, weakening, and the inability of the organ to work. Melancholy called those who behaved absurdly and spoke appropriately. The actions of such people did not obey logic. At first, those prone to melancholy were lethargic and depressed, indifferent and weak, and as the state progressed, they were erratic and inclined to invent and imagine something bad. Such people, as noted in medieval medicine, are prone to loneliness and often spend their time in caves and cemeteries.

black bile

Situation progress

Until about the middle of the last century, people who were under the control of psychiatrists due to black bile were treated with hunger and a chain. They were severely punished physically. Depression forced patients to behave quietly, so milder exposure options were often applied to them. Then they invented immersion in ice water, used mercury and bleach, and other poisons. Over time, narcotic substances began to be used, and opium was most prevalent. Modern doctors use antidepressants and a set of psychotherapeutic measures.


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