Under the influence of various factors, the integrity of the spleen - an organ located in the left hypochondrium - may be impaired. Its rupture requires immediate medical intervention, but delay in such a case could result in irreparable consequences. How does the spleen hurt and how to provide first aid in case of damage? Every person should know about this.
Causes of damage
Any person can face a spleen rupture, regardless of age and lifestyle. Such a pathology may well overtake an elderly person, a teenager, and even a very small child.
The first symptom of rupture of the spleen in adults is the appearance of an extensive hematoma, which is filled with blood clots. This condition is called subcapsular formation. Gradually, the capsule is opened, causing the development of bleeding. The most common cause of rupture of the spleen is considered serious trauma to the abdominal cavity. In this case, all the symptoms usually appear immediately. According to statistics, rupture of the spleen from stroke occurs in about 70% of all cases of pathology.
Much less often, an organ is damaged due to other conditions:
- clonal abnormalities in the work of the hematopoietic system;
- the course of infectious processes in the body that increase the load on the spleen;
- too high physical activity against the background of pathologies in the work of the spleen;
- abnormal changes in the organ, for example, its pathological increase;
- increased blood filling during the formation and development of the fetus in the last trimester of pregnancy;
- failures in metabolic processes;
- injury to the capsule at the time of labor during rapid or complicated childbirth;
- malignant and benign neoplasms in the cells of the organ;
- vector-borne malformations of an infectious nature, for example, malaria;
- inflammation of nearby structures, for example, cirrhosis of the liver, tuberculosis or hepatitis C.
Symptoms of spleen rupture in adults
The damage to the capsule or organ tissues is prevented by sudden changes in well-being. Here are the main symptoms of spleen rupture in adults:
- sharp, unbearable pain in the area of ​​the left hypochondrium, can give to the area of ​​the scapula;
- nausea associated with vomiting or urge to it;
- severe pain with pressure;
- instant onset of weakness, apathy;
- bloating of the anterior abdominal cavity;
- sudden blanching;
- loss of appetite and strength;
- heart palpitations;
- lowering blood pressure;
- pain, discomfort in the anus;
- dizziness, accompanied by visual impairment;
- loss of orientation, fainting state.
At the time of injury, a person feels an unusual internal push on the left side of the chest.
How does the spleen hurt? Pain arising from rupture of an organ is almost impossible to endure. Pain sensations are acute, painful in nature. It is this symptom that often serves as a reason for suspecting a diagnosis.
With simultaneous damage, all the described symptoms of spleen rupture in adults appear simultaneously, for 5-10 minutes after receiving an injury. A two-stage violation of integrity is characteristic of the development of signs only after a complete rupture of tissues.
Diagnostics
It is probably simply impossible to ignore the signs of rupture of the spleen, because the person feels extremely strong, sharp pain. But it is very difficult to determine the diagnosis correctly because of the symptoms characteristic of other pathologies of the internal organs. Final confirmation of the alleged damage is possible only during surgery. In all other cases, a specific diagnosis is obtained with a probability of the order of 12-15%.
If you suspect an organ rupture, you must definitely go to the doctor. In the clinic, you will be prescribed a set of examinations that will reveal the cause of the pain that has appeared:
- Ultrasonography. On the monitor, the gap does not reflect ultrasonic waves, that is, it does not work to examine the edges and tissues of the organ. This is due to heavy bleeding. Indicators of rupture of the spleen on the ultrasound screen is the complete absence or decrease in diaphragm mobility in the area of ​​the left dome. In addition, with this condition, a pronounced displacement of the abdominal organs to the left is observed. Sometimes ultrasound becomes impossible due to severe pain when pressing on the damaged area.
- Laparoscopy. This is a surgical examination, which makes it possible to identify the presence of injury, its size and location. Laparoscopy is a puncture of the abdominal cavity and the internal introduction of a special telescopic tube. If it is impossible to conduct such an examination due to certain contraindications, the doctor may prescribe the patient an identical surgical diagnostic method - laparocentesis. During this procedure, soft tissues are carefully pierced with a special device and the fluid accumulated inside is removed.
- X-ray of the chest and abdomen. Often on a review x-ray it is not possible to examine the damage in detail, so doctors often recommend a contrast examination of the vascular network - an antiography. Using this procedure, you can detect vascular damage resulting from damage, and determine the extent of bleeding.
Types of injury
Doctors conditionally subdivide spleen ruptures into multiple and single, and the former, according to statistics, occur much more often. In addition, there are several more types:
- Contusion is a traumatic rupture of the spleen without damage to the membrane.
- Disruption of the capsule, in which the parenchyma remains intact.
- Simultaneous rupture of the shell and capsule.
- Parenchyma injury, which entails damage to the membrane, is a two-stage latent rupture.
- Complete damage to the entire spleen, which leads to late bleeding.
How to detect a problem
Determining the exact diagnosis, the specialist takes into account the whole clinical picture: the victim’s complaints, his appearance, pressure indicator, pulse rate, urine and blood tests.
Rupture of the spleen is eliminated exclusively by surgery. It is impossible to dispense with the use of any medication and, even more so, the use of alternative means.
For pain in the spleen, you need to call a team of doctors, but before they arrive, you should not waste time in vain. Properly provided first aid will make it possible to significantly alleviate the condition of the victim and can even shorten the duration of rehabilitation after the operation.
What to do when rupture of the spleen
In this case, you need to act according to a certain scenario:
- Put the victim on a hard surface with his back, and place a pillow or a suitable roller under his head.
- Gently push the center of the chest with your fingers - this can stop intense bleeding.
- Repeat such pressures every half minute until the arrival of the team of doctors.
- Put a cool compress on the victim’s stomach. You can use a wet cloth or frozen food for this.
Surgical intervention
The operation is necessary to stop internal bleeding, which can lead to death. Immediately before surgery, doctors normalize hemodynamics by transfusion of blood substitutes or blood.
If the victim is in critical condition, doctors carry out an emergency operation to remove and staple the organ without stopping the transfusion.
Just a few decades ago, with rupture of the spleen and bleeding, doctors resorted to one way to eliminate the pathology - the complete removal of the affected organ.
Today, such an operation is assigned exclusively in such cases:
- lack of ability to suture a wound;
- the departure of the organ from the leg;
- teething seams;
- tears and cracks directed to the gate of the spleen;
- through and torn knife, gunshot wounds.
In all other cases, there is simply no reason to completely remove the damaged organ, so it remains partially or even entirely.
Rehabilitation period
To mitigate the impact caused by immunity, resort to the use of immunostimulating agents and vitamin-mineral complexes. A person who has suffered a rupture of the spleen is recommended to take such drugs until the end of life.
In adults and children, rehabilitation after surgery lasts about 3-4 months, but despite such a short time, recovery is quite difficult. During this period, patients should observe bed rest, take medications prescribed by the doctor - painkillers and antibacterial drugs, and also adhere to a strict therapeutic diet.
Doctors Recommendations
The daily menu of the affected person should consist of the following dishes:
- hated broths based on vegetables, fish, lean meats;
- porridge from green buckwheat, oatmeal, barley, millet and brown rice;
- braised or boiled red fish;
- steamed or steamed vegetables - bell peppers, all varieties of cabbage, zucchini and potatoes.
To fully restore the body, it is recommended to absorb about 2000-2200 calories during the day.
During the rehabilitation period, it is strictly forbidden to smoke and drink all kinds of alcoholic beverages.
Subject to all doctor's recommendations, pain in the spleen recedes in only 2-3 weeks.
It is very important for people who have undergone complete removal of the damaged organ to avoid hypothermia in order to prevent weakening of the immune system. If to prevent the development of the disease did not work, you can not self-medicate.
Among other things, a person after rupture of the spleen should refuse to travel to countries in which there is a high risk of contracting malaria, engage in sports regularly and undergo an abdominal ultrasound during the first two years after the operation.
Likely Consequences
What is dangerous spleen rupture? This condition can lead to almost any consequences, up to a fatal outcome. It all depends on the state of health of the injured person, the circumstances of the injury, its vastness and the correctness of the first aid provided. But even timely surgical intervention is not able to completely restore the previous state of the body and return to the former way of life. In fact, the operation can only stop the bleeding and preserve the damaged organ at least partially.
Conclusion
After surgery, most patients experience a weakening of the immune system, an increase in platelet count. The protective capabilities of the body are suppressed, because of which a person begins to get sick much more often and longer. Moreover, the diseases themselves proceed in a more severe form.
The functions that the spleen performed before the injury, after the removal of the organ, the liver takes over. So the whole organism suffers from damage, and not its separate parts.