Since ancient times, mankind has been aware of gallstone disease (cholelithiasis). A huge number of books and articles are devoted to this ailment. Despite this, many people do not know what help should be provided to patients during an attack of cholelithiasis. What symptoms are characteristic for him, what can be done for a person, what drugs can help? These are issues that need to be addressed.
What is LCD?
An attack of cholelithiasis (symptoms, first aid are discussed in the article) is a rather relevant topic, because cholelithiasis is a common ailment. With the aforementioned disease, stones accumulate in the bile ducts and gall bladder . They are cholesterol and pigmented. The first ones are the most common. The composition of cholesterol stones includes cholesterol, mucin, bilirubinate, phosphate, calcium carbonate and palmitate, as well as other substances.
Pigment stones are divided into black and brown. Black structures are mainly found in the gallbladder. They are formed from calcium bilirubinate and other bilirubin compounds, calcium salts of carbonate and phosphate, mucin, and other substances. Brown stones are most often detected in the bile ducts. These structures consist of calcium salts of unconjugated bilirubin with the inclusion of cholesterol, protein.
Risk factors
An ailment in which symptoms of an attack of cholelithiasis can occur, occurs for various reasons. One risk factor is female. Statistics show that the representatives of the beautiful half of humanity named the disease develops much more often than men. Another equally important risk factor is age. Gallstones are found in many people after 60 years.
Obesity plays a significant role in increasing the frequency of gallstone disease. Too overweight people produce bile oversaturated with cholesterol. Another very significant factor is pregnancy. In women in position, estrogen levels increase. Because of this, the secretion of cholesterol in bile is enhanced.
Other risk factors that cause gallstone disease (seizure) are:
- rapid and significant reduction in body weight;
- diabetes;
- parenteral nutrition ;
- small bowel disease;
- taking oral contraceptives.
Asymptomatic and dyspeptic forms of the disease
Some people have stones in the gallbladder, but patients do not show any complaints. This form of the disease is called asymptomatic (latent). Experts consider it as a period of the course of cholelithiasis, because, according to statistics, after about 10 or 15 years, 30-50% of people have symptoms of the disease and complications.
Another form of gallstone disease is dyspeptic. Sick people complain of functional disorders of the digestive tract. The following symptoms are observed (they occur, as a rule, after eating, especially if fried, fatty, spicy dishes, alcoholic beverages were used):
- a feeling of heaviness in the epigastrium and right hypochondrium;
- bitter taste in the oral cavity;
- heartburn;
- excessive accumulation of gases in the intestines;
- unstable chair.
Hepatic (biliary) colic
Asymptomatic and despeptic forms of gallstone disease are not the only ones. Specialists also distinguish hepatic (biliary) colic. This is the most common clinical form of the disease. It is detected in 75% of sick people suffering from cholelithiasis.
For hepatic (biliary) colic, sudden onset and periodically recurring symptoms of an attack of gallstone disease are characteristic. In some patients, they arise due to improper nutrition and physical activity. In other people, it is not possible to identify provoking factors. Attacks begin at night, during sleep.
Symptoms of an attack of cholelithiasis
An attack of the disease manifests itself in pain. In most cases, it is localized in the epigastrium, sometimes felt in the xiphoid process. Possible irradiation of pain in the right shoulder or in the region of the right scapula. Discomfort in intensity and nature can be different: stitching, crushing, cramping.
In addition to pain, suspicious symptoms such as nausea, vomiting with an admixture of bile, which does not bring relief, can also be observed. However, it is worth noting that these symptoms of an attack of gallstone disease are quite rare. They occur in a small number of sick people.
Upon examination, specialists notice the following objective signs in their patients:
- restlessness, restlessness (sick people rush about and try to occupy a position in which the pain would recede);
- heart rate up to 100 beats per minute;
- tongue is moist, covered with a touch of whitish hue;
- the abdomen is swollen, its right half is behind in the act of breathing;
- with percussion and palpation of the abdomen, people complain of sharp pain in the right hypochondrium.
Duration and frequency of seizures
Pain in people with cholelithiasis occurs suddenly. The duration of the attack can be from 15 minutes to 8 hours. Sometimes the pain also torments for 12 hours. This happens with the development of acute cholecystitis. When the attack of the disease goes away, the pain disappears. There remains only an unpleasant sensation in the abdomen.
The frequency of seizures with the disease is individual. In some sick people, biliary colic symptoms can occur every day, in the second - once a week, in the third - once a month. It is extremely rare that there is only one pain attack.
First aid
If there are symptoms of an attack of gallstone disease, it is urgent to call a doctor. Before the arrival of a specialist, the patient should be given first aid:
- provide peace (recommended bed rest);
- give a heating pad (it must be put on the region of the right hypochondrium);
- offer to take a warm bath.
At the time of the attack of gallstone disease, it is allowed to give medicines: antispasmodics (Drotaverin, No-shpa) in combination with analgesics (Spazmalgon, Baralgin). You can wait until the doctor arrives. The specialist will tell you how to relieve the attack, and will introduce the necessary drugs in a certain dose:
- "No-shpu" (intramuscularly 2 ml);
- "Papaverine", 2% (intramuscularly 2 ml);
- "Baralgin" (intravenously 5 ml);
- "Atropine", 0.1% (subcutaneously 1 ml).
Other dangerous conditions may be hidden behind the symptoms of an attack of gallstone disease. To confirm the diagnosis, you will need to do a detailed blood test, ultrasound or fluoroscopy. If there are indications, the specialists will perform the following activities:
- cleaning of the bile ducts;
- surgical removal of existing stones, gall bladder.
Power Features
The attack of gallstone disease, the symptoms, the treatment of which is known to every gastroenterologist, is familiar to many people firsthand. However, not everyone thinks about prevention. In preventing the occurrence of attacks of gallstone disease, a significant help will be provided by changing your daily menu.
Firstly, refractory fats should be discarded. Due to the insufficient supply of bile, the activity of a special enzyme, lipase, decreases. This, in turn, leads to a deterioration of the breakdown and absorption of fats. People feel pain, cramping, bloating. Only butter and vegetable oils are allowed.
Secondly, rye bread, mushrooms, peas, beans, nuts, millet, chocolates, coffee, cocoa, butter dough should be excluded from your menu. These products cause exacerbation, because their digestion requires tension of the enzyme systems of the human body.
Traditional Healer Tips
Sand and stones formed in the gallbladder interfere with the normal renewal of bile, change the mechanism of its action. To treat and prevent these processes, traditional healers advise what to do. An attack can be prevented if:
- Treated with olive oil. This product helps accelerate the crushing of stones in the internal organ. Folk doctors recommend daily, before bedtime, to take 1 tbsp. l butter and then drink juice squeezed from half a lemon. The duration of the use of folk remedies can be 1 week. At this time, you need to adhere to a plant diet, do not smoke, do not drink alcoholic beverages, coffee, do not eat foods that provoke bloating.
- Drink herbal decoction. First make up a collection of mint, chamomile and immortelle in a ratio of 2: 1: 1. Then brew 1 tbsp. l mixture in 0.5 l of hot water. The resulting medicine is kept on low heat for 30 minutes. Filter the prepared broth and drink 0.5 cups four times a day, half an hour before a meal.
- Eat an empty stomach lemon for 3 days. This fruit is peeled and passed through a meat grinder. To the resulting mixture add 0.5 tsp. soda.
So, you have become aware of what an attack of gallstone disease is. Symptoms, first aid - this is what all people should be aware of, because no one is safe from the disease. Also, do not forget that the occurrence of ZhKB attacks can be prevented. Prevention should include maintaining a rational diet, reducing or eliminating stagnation of bile in the gallbladder (combating adynamia, frequent meals), timely treatment of existing chronic diseases.