INTRODUCTION: Gallstones are pieces of hard solid matter found in the gallbladder and can be as tiny as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball, depending on how long they have been growing. They often have no signs and are routinely found by a routine x-ray, surgery, or autopsy.
Gallstones also may move about within bile, for example, from the gallbladder into the cystic or common duct. They are a common health problem worldwide and occur more frequently in women than men becoming more common with age in both sexes. More than 20 million Americans have them and approximately one million new cases are diagnosed each year.
SYMPTOMS: Gallstones can feel like chest pain caused by a heart attack and other serious conditions. Symptoms normally start after a large stone blocks the cystic duct or the common bile duct and usually do not return after the gallbladder has been removed. Approximately 80% of people do not have any signs for a number of years, if ever, particularly if the stones stay in the gallbladder.
If you have symptoms, you most likely will have mild pain in the pit of your stomach or in the upper right part of your belly. About 15% of people who have symptoms also have stones in the common bile duct.
Exactly how diet can produces gallstone formation is not known, but diets which are high in cholesterol and fat, and low in fiber can increase the chance of developing Them.
There are 2 basic kinds of gallstones. Pigmented (bilirubin) types are found most frequently in Patients with severe liver problems and patients with any blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia.
Cholesterol types are found most often in: Women over 20, especially pregnant women, and men over 60 years old, People on "crash diets" who lose a lot of weight quickly, Patients who use certain medications including birth control pills and cholesterol lowering agents, Native-Americans and Mexican-Americans.
TREATMENTS: Gallstones that do not create symptoms do not require treatment, However if they block a duct, they do. Surgery to remove the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) is the treatment of choice for stones that create moderate to severe pain or other signs. However, only 1 of 5 persons can have this treatment. Persons who have it often produce new stones after a few years. Half of these require treatment, with a cost to society of several billion dollars yearly.
Many novel approaches to treatment have been tried over the past few years, but surgical removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) continues to be the most often used therapy. Non-surgical treatment includes pain drugs, antibiotics to fight infection, and a low-fat diet (when food can be tolerated).
A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical problems.
CONCLUSION: Gallstones usually form in the gallbladder; however, they also may form anywhere there is bile: in the intrahepatic, hepatic, common bile, and cystic ducts. They form when cholesterol and other things found in bile make stones.
They can develop in many people without causing symptoms and do not cause belching and bloating. Gallstones usually occur in adults between the ages of 20 and 50, and are more common in women in this age group.
Gallstones also may move about within bile, for example, from the gallbladder into the cystic or common duct. They are a common health problem worldwide and occur more frequently in women than men becoming more common with age in both sexes. More than 20 million Americans have them and approximately one million new cases are diagnosed each year.
SYMPTOMS: Gallstones can feel like chest pain caused by a heart attack and other serious conditions. Symptoms normally start after a large stone blocks the cystic duct or the common bile duct and usually do not return after the gallbladder has been removed. Approximately 80% of people do not have any signs for a number of years, if ever, particularly if the stones stay in the gallbladder.
If you have symptoms, you most likely will have mild pain in the pit of your stomach or in the upper right part of your belly. About 15% of people who have symptoms also have stones in the common bile duct.
Exactly how diet can produces gallstone formation is not known, but diets which are high in cholesterol and fat, and low in fiber can increase the chance of developing Them.
There are 2 basic kinds of gallstones. Pigmented (bilirubin) types are found most frequently in Patients with severe liver problems and patients with any blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia.
Cholesterol types are found most often in: Women over 20, especially pregnant women, and men over 60 years old, People on "crash diets" who lose a lot of weight quickly, Patients who use certain medications including birth control pills and cholesterol lowering agents, Native-Americans and Mexican-Americans.
TREATMENTS: Gallstones that do not create symptoms do not require treatment, However if they block a duct, they do. Surgery to remove the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) is the treatment of choice for stones that create moderate to severe pain or other signs. However, only 1 of 5 persons can have this treatment. Persons who have it often produce new stones after a few years. Half of these require treatment, with a cost to society of several billion dollars yearly.
Many novel approaches to treatment have been tried over the past few years, but surgical removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) continues to be the most often used therapy. Non-surgical treatment includes pain drugs, antibiotics to fight infection, and a low-fat diet (when food can be tolerated).
A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical problems.
CONCLUSION: Gallstones usually form in the gallbladder; however, they also may form anywhere there is bile: in the intrahepatic, hepatic, common bile, and cystic ducts. They form when cholesterol and other things found in bile make stones.
They can develop in many people without causing symptoms and do not cause belching and bloating. Gallstones usually occur in adults between the ages of 20 and 50, and are more common in women in this age group.
About the Author:
About The Author: Richard H. Ealom is the Author of this article and the creator of "Free Articles On Sickness and Diseases: How To Prevent and Cure Them". Want more information Please visit our websites@Diabetes & Cancer Secrets OR Go To Heart Disease & Obesity Secrets. You are allowed to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.
