Digestive diseases in recent years are among the most common. Many of them do not cause special problems, and people can live with gastritis or colitis for years. But you can’t ignore the disease if the pancreas is inflamed. Medication is the only way to alleviate the condition and prevent severe complications. This organ is so important that a violation of its work affects the functioning of the whole organism. In addition to hormonal disorders, the absorption of nutrients from food is worsened.
The role of the pancreas
It performs many functions in the body:
- produces hormones: ghrelin, glucagon, insulin and some others;
- participates in the metabolism and controls the flow of sugar into the blood;
- synthesizes important digestive enzymes, without which the breakdown of proteins, fats and carbohydrates is impossible.
Pancreatic disease
Treatment of dysfunctions of this organ is carried out mainly in a conservative way - with the help of drugs. Take pills must be prescribed by a doctor. If this is not done, the digestive and metabolic processes are disrupted in the body. What diseases is this organ susceptible to?
- The most severe and almost incurable disease associated with impaired pancreatic function is diabetes.
- Various benign and malignant tumors and cysts can develop in the tissues of this organ.
- With severe nutritional errors, stones can form in the pancreas.
- This organ can be affected by a rather rare genetic disease - cystic fibrosis.
- Pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas, is the most common malnutrition disease.
Causes of dysfunction of this body
Why does the pancreas become inflamed ? Medication for certain diseases can lead to chemical poisoning of the gland. This organ is also very sensitive to nutritional errors and is highly responsive to alcohol. Some other causes can also cause pancreatic disease. Treatment should take them into account, otherwise it will not bring results. This organ may become inflamed due to diseases of the liver and biliary tract, stomach ulcers, clogging of the vessels that feed it, or errors in nutrition. Pancreatitis can also develop as a complication after viral diseases or abdominal injuries.
How to recognize pancreatic inflammation
Only a doctor can prescribe treatment, drugs and the necessary diet, taking into account the state of health and the causes of the disease. The main thing is to contact a medical institution in time so as not to lose time. In the acute course of the disease, when the patient is tormented by severe pain, treatment most often begins immediately. But in case of chronic pancreatitis, the patient does not always consult a doctor on time. To understand that your pancreas has become inflamed, you need to know the signs of this condition:
- acute pains of herpes zoster (but with a chronic course, they may be absent);
- nausea, vomiting, belching and bloating;
- dyspeptic disorders or scanty oily stools;
- fever, shortness of breath, pressure surges;
- in the chronic course of the disease, there is a loss of strength, weight loss and vitamin deficiency.
Due to the breakdown of the gland tissue, diabetes can develop.
Treatment of acute pancreatitis
With this course of the disease, the patient requires urgent hospitalization. First of all, he needs a diet, so food is provided through a dropper. With exacerbation, it is also important to relieve pain, reduce intoxication and reduce the activity of enzymes. For this purpose, analgesics and various drugs are used to treat the pancreas. The first 3-4 days they are administered intravenously, after relief, are taken in pill form. To reduce the enzyme-forming function, cold is placed on the pancreas. When a bacterial infection joins the inflammation, antibiotics are prescribed. In some cases, surgical removal of part of the destroyed organ is indicated.
Treatment of chronic pancreatitis
After alleviating the condition, it cannot be said that the pancreas has fully recovered. It is believed that after an attack, the patient must constantly follow a diet and take enzyme preparations to improve digestion. In order not to provoke an exacerbation, it is important to refuse to take alcoholic beverages and smoke, not to eat fatty and fried foods. You need to have pancreas pills in your house all the time, and some of them should be taken several times a day after meals.
Painkillers
The main symptom of pancreatic inflammation is excruciating pain. They increase after eating and when lying on your back. To alleviate the condition, you can sit and lean forward or put an ice bubble on the abdomen. But the use of pain medications is always required when the pancreas becomes inflamed. Medication in this case quickly brings relief. The most commonly used antispasmodic drugs: Baralgin, No-Shpu, Papaverin or Drotaverin in ampoules or tablets. Analgesics are sometimes used, for example, Aspirin or Paracetomol, but you should not abuse them. In hospitals, H2-blockers are prescribed, for example, Ranitidine or Famotidine. To alleviate the condition, cholinolytic and antihistamines are also used: Atropine, Platifillin or Diphenhydramine.
Pancreatic Antacids
Means that bind and neutralize hydrochloric acid help prevent the formation of ulcers on the gastric mucosa and protect it from irritation. Most often, for these purposes, drugs are used in the form of gels or suspensions - "Almagel" or "Phosphalugel", which create a film on the mucous membrane. Together with them, you need to take drugs that reduce the production of hydrochloric acid. Best of all are the drugs "Contraloc", "Omez". Gastrozole, Proseptin, Ocid, and others also have similar effects. For this purpose, Ranitidine and Famotidine preparations are also used, as well as their analogues: Acidex, Zoran, Gasterogen, Pepsidin and others. Proton pump blockers, such as Lansoprazole, can also be used as antacids. To reduce acidity, you need to drink more alkaline solutions, preferably mineral water without gas, but you can also dilute soda in water. With inflammation, the pancreas is very active. Medicines are also used to reduce the production of enzymes. It is best to use Contrikal or Aprotinin tablets for this.
Enzyme preparations
After alleviating the patient’s condition, when he has already begun to eat, enzyme therapy is used to maintain the pancreas and improve the digestion process. You need to drink these drugs immediately after eating, the dose is prescribed individually. Typically, such tablets for the pancreas take a long time, in cases of chronic disease or severe insufficiency of the functions of this organ - constantly. The most common enzyme preparation is Pancreatin. Mezim, Festal, Creon, Panzinorm, and others have similar effects. But they are made on the basis of pork, so some people can cause allergic reactions. In this case, you need to take enzymes based on plant components - rice fungus or papain. The most famous drugs are Unienzyme, Somilase and Pepphiz.
How else can you treat the pancreas
In difficult cases with pancreatitis, insulin is prescribed when it is produced insufficiently. If a bacterial infection or suppuration develops, then antibiotics are used, for example, Ampicillin. Sometimes it is necessary to use surgical intervention, but this is rarely done, because the most tender and sensitive organ is the pancreas. Medication for her diseases is therefore very limited. After all, the entire digestion process is disrupted, and the absorption of drugs can be incomplete. In addition, with pancreatitis, intolerance to certain drugs often develops. Therefore, it is believed that this disease is incurable, and the patient needs to follow a strict diet and lead a healthy lifestyle.
One of the cases of inadmissibility of self-medication is when the pancreas becomes inflamed. What medications to take, only a doctor can decide, so you do not need to risk your health. With improper treatment, necrosis, blood poisoning and diabetes can develop.