The essence of cholelithiasis (more correctly called gallstone) is that stones form in the gallbladder . "Building material" for them are the main components of bile. The disease proceeds in most cases without symptoms and is detected by chance, with an ultrasound examination. Rarely, pebbles are excreted if they slip out of the bladder into the intestines. A person can feel the manifestations of cholelithiasis in case of its complications. Then pain, bloating and other signs of this ailment appear.
Gallstone disease: complications
Stones (clusters of stones) provoke inflammation of the gallbladder. This happens when the bladder contracts after eating to throw out a portion of bile: the stones irritate the mucous membrane of the organ and the person feels discomfort after eating. Pain with cholelithiasis can be aching or paroxysmal. Sometimes it hurts not in the place where the affected organ is located, but in the region of the heart, lower back or stomach. To determine the origin of pain, do not do without research. In addition to the already mentioned ultrasound, stones sometimes show an x-ray. There is a method of retrograde pancreatocholangiography (ERCP), but this is already a surgical intervention that is resorted to when examining the bile ducts.
Another complication of cholelithiasis is called a violation of the outflow of bile, which is accompanied by yellowing of the sclera in the patient. During colic, the stones penetrate into the bile duct and block it. And here you can’t do without an operation.
Causes of gallstone disease
The abuse of food of animal origin, as well as containing refined carbohydrates, increases cholesterol, and that in turn is involved in the formation of stones in the gallbladder and ducts. In women, the cause of the disease can be pregnancy, as well as taking birth control pills. In both cases, a hormone is released into the bloodstream that promotes the formation of lithogenic (producing stones) bile.
How to relieve pain
A tissue impregnated with warmed camphor oil is placed on the gallbladder area. After some time, the pain subsides. Analgesics and antispasmodics will also help, but since swallowed tablets can cause vomiting, it is better to inject drugs. And of course, in order to alleviate pain and heal, you need to review your diet, refusing food that impedes the liver. These are animal fats, dairy products, eggs, sausages, liver, caviar, sugar, starch, fried and spicy food. The Soviet nutritionist Pevzner has developed a diet designed to help those people who have been diagnosed with cholelithiasis. Symptoms diet number 5 eliminates very successfully, if you carefully adhere to it.
Treatment
There are two ways to recover from the disease: the use of funds that remove stones from the gallbladder, and the operation to remove the bladder itself. Doctors usually suggest a second way. Why? Medicines that promote the dissolution of stones need to be taken for a long time, they have a high cost and do not cope with all stones successfully. And most importantly - after completion of therapy, stones will begin to appear again, if the causes of the disease are not eliminated. The same can be said about the method of shock wave therapy (lithotripsy), in which stones are crushed, but it is not shown to all patients.
The operation involves the removal of the gallbladder, as the organ stuffed with stones can no longer perform its functions. Experts say that this will not affect the future life of a person. The method of laparoscopy, due to which surgical intervention occurs through small (from 5 mm to 1.5 cm) holes, there are no seams on the body.
Prevention of the disease is to eat right and move actively.