Gallstones - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Peter Rodrick
November 09, 2008
Gallstones are hard, pebble-like deposits that form inside the gallbladder. Gallstones may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball, depending on how long they have been forming.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Most people who have gallstones never experience any symptoms. They might never even know they have gallstones. However, a gallstone can leave your gallbladder and go into the passageway from your gallbladder to your intestine. If a gallstone gets stuck in that passageway and blocks it completely, you will have severe pain in the right upper part of your belly. You may also feel pain in your upper back. The pain usually starts suddenly and lasts for several hours. This is known as a gallbladder attack.
There is no single cause of gallstones. In some people, the liver produces too much cholesterol. This can result in the formation of cholesterol crystals in bile which grow into stones. In other people, gallstones form because of changes in other components of bile or because the gallbladder fails to empty normally.
Symptoms of Gallstones
About 90% of gallstones provoke no symptoms at all. If problems do develop, the chance of developing pain is about 2% per year for the first 10 years after stone formation. After this, the chance for developing symptoms declines. On average, symptoms take about 8 years to develop. The reason for the decline in incidence after 10 years is not known, although some doctors suggest that "younger," smaller stones may be more likely to cause symptoms than larger, older ones.
Gallstones are the most common gall-bladder problem, capable of causing *colics and *jaundice. Stones in the gall-bladder usually go undetected for a long time, but once a larger stone passing through the global bile duct becomes lodged, it can cause intense *pain, appearing as a sharp *cramp just under the right ribcage, which recurs and subsides. In some cases, the pain will shoot into the right shoulder or back often there is accompanying *nausea and *fever with chills.
Diagnosing Gallstones
When symptoms seem to indicate a gallstone, your doctor may suggest an ultrasound of the abdomen. A technician will pass a handheld device that emits sound waves over the abdomen. Sound waves bounce off organs and other solid masses, revealing the presence of gallstones.
Treatment of Gallstones
Gallstones are normally treated by surgically removing your gall bladder in a procedure known as a cholecystectomy. The procedure uses minimally invasive surgery that is sometimes known as 'keyhole' surgery due to the small size of the incision that is made .
There are various forms of non-surgical treatment available, one of which is the use of oral medication to dissolve gallstones. However, this treatment is only effective in the treatment of small, non-calcified gallstones and they have to be cholesterol gallstones. It is used only in rare circumstances such as in people for whom surgery is not an option. With oral dissolution therapy, medication is taken by mouth to reduce the amount of cholesterol in the bile and to gradually dissolve cholesterol-containing stones. This form of treatment does not offer a particularly effective solution, as less than 50 per cent of stones are dissolved, and 50 per cent of these commonly recur after the medication has been stopped. It can take months to years for the stones to dissolve.
Read Home Remedies. Also visit Vagina Tightening Serum and Breast Capsules
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Most people who have gallstones never experience any symptoms. They might never even know they have gallstones. However, a gallstone can leave your gallbladder and go into the passageway from your gallbladder to your intestine. If a gallstone gets stuck in that passageway and blocks it completely, you will have severe pain in the right upper part of your belly. You may also feel pain in your upper back. The pain usually starts suddenly and lasts for several hours. This is known as a gallbladder attack.
There is no single cause of gallstones. In some people, the liver produces too much cholesterol. This can result in the formation of cholesterol crystals in bile which grow into stones. In other people, gallstones form because of changes in other components of bile or because the gallbladder fails to empty normally.
Symptoms of Gallstones
About 90% of gallstones provoke no symptoms at all. If problems do develop, the chance of developing pain is about 2% per year for the first 10 years after stone formation. After this, the chance for developing symptoms declines. On average, symptoms take about 8 years to develop. The reason for the decline in incidence after 10 years is not known, although some doctors suggest that "younger," smaller stones may be more likely to cause symptoms than larger, older ones.
Gallstones are the most common gall-bladder problem, capable of causing *colics and *jaundice. Stones in the gall-bladder usually go undetected for a long time, but once a larger stone passing through the global bile duct becomes lodged, it can cause intense *pain, appearing as a sharp *cramp just under the right ribcage, which recurs and subsides. In some cases, the pain will shoot into the right shoulder or back often there is accompanying *nausea and *fever with chills.
Diagnosing Gallstones
When symptoms seem to indicate a gallstone, your doctor may suggest an ultrasound of the abdomen. A technician will pass a handheld device that emits sound waves over the abdomen. Sound waves bounce off organs and other solid masses, revealing the presence of gallstones.
Treatment of Gallstones
Gallstones are normally treated by surgically removing your gall bladder in a procedure known as a cholecystectomy. The procedure uses minimally invasive surgery that is sometimes known as 'keyhole' surgery due to the small size of the incision that is made .
There are various forms of non-surgical treatment available, one of which is the use of oral medication to dissolve gallstones. However, this treatment is only effective in the treatment of small, non-calcified gallstones and they have to be cholesterol gallstones. It is used only in rare circumstances such as in people for whom surgery is not an option. With oral dissolution therapy, medication is taken by mouth to reduce the amount of cholesterol in the bile and to gradually dissolve cholesterol-containing stones. This form of treatment does not offer a particularly effective solution, as less than 50 per cent of stones are dissolved, and 50 per cent of these commonly recur after the medication has been stopped. It can take months to years for the stones to dissolve.
Read Home Remedies. Also visit Vagina Tightening Serum and Breast Capsules
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