INTRODUCTION: Gallstones are pieces of hard solid material located in the gallbladder and may be as little as a grain of sand or as big as a golf ball, depending on how long they have been forming. They frequently have no symptoms and are often uncovered by a routine x-ray, surgery, or autopsy.
They also may move around within bile, for example, from the gallbladder into the cystic or common duct. They are a common health problem worldwide and happen more frequently in women than men becoming more common with age in both males and females. More than 20 million Americans have them and approximately 1 million new cases are found per year.
SYMPTOMS: They may feel like chest pain produced by a heart attack and other serious problems. Signs usually begin after a large stone blocks the cystic duct or the common bile duct and typically do not return after the gallbladder has been removed. Nearly 80 percent of people do not have any symptoms for many years, if ever, especially if the stones remain in the gallbladder.
If you have symptoms, you most likely will have some pain in the pit of your stomach or in the upper right part of your belly. Approximately 15% of people who have symptoms also have stones in the common bile duct.
Exactly how diet affects gallstone formation is not clear, but diets which are high in cholesterol and fat, and low in fiber may increase the risk 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 diagnosed most often in: Women over twenty years, especially pregnant women, and men over sixty years old, People on "crash diets" who drop a lot of weight quickly, Persons who take certain medications including birth control pills and cholesterol lowering agents, Native-Americans and Mexican-Americans.
TREATMENTS: Gallstones that do not produce symptoms do not need treatment, But if they block a duct, they do. Surgery to remove the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) is the option of choice for stones that produce moderate to severe pain or other symptoms. However, only one of five people can have this treatment. Those who have it frequently form new stones after a few years. Half of these need treatment, with a cost to society of several billion dollars annually.
Many new approaches to treatment have been tried over the past several years, but surgical removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) remains the most widely used therapy. Non-surgical treatment includes pain medicines, antibiotics to fight infection, and a low-fat diet (when food can be tolerated).
A licensed doctor should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.
CONCLUSION: Gallstones usually form in the gallbladder; but, they also may form anywhere there is bile: in the intrahepatic, hepatic, common bile, and cystic ducts. They form when cholesterol and other materials found in bile create 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.
They also may move around within bile, for example, from the gallbladder into the cystic or common duct. They are a common health problem worldwide and happen more frequently in women than men becoming more common with age in both males and females. More than 20 million Americans have them and approximately 1 million new cases are found per year.
SYMPTOMS: They may feel like chest pain produced by a heart attack and other serious problems. Signs usually begin after a large stone blocks the cystic duct or the common bile duct and typically do not return after the gallbladder has been removed. Nearly 80 percent of people do not have any symptoms for many years, if ever, especially if the stones remain in the gallbladder.
If you have symptoms, you most likely will have some pain in the pit of your stomach or in the upper right part of your belly. Approximately 15% of people who have symptoms also have stones in the common bile duct.
Exactly how diet affects gallstone formation is not clear, but diets which are high in cholesterol and fat, and low in fiber may increase the risk 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 diagnosed most often in: Women over twenty years, especially pregnant women, and men over sixty years old, People on "crash diets" who drop a lot of weight quickly, Persons who take certain medications including birth control pills and cholesterol lowering agents, Native-Americans and Mexican-Americans.
TREATMENTS: Gallstones that do not produce symptoms do not need treatment, But if they block a duct, they do. Surgery to remove the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) is the option of choice for stones that produce moderate to severe pain or other symptoms. However, only one of five people can have this treatment. Those who have it frequently form new stones after a few years. Half of these need treatment, with a cost to society of several billion dollars annually.
Many new approaches to treatment have been tried over the past several years, but surgical removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) remains the most widely used therapy. Non-surgical treatment includes pain medicines, antibiotics to fight infection, and a low-fat diet (when food can be tolerated).
A licensed doctor should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.
CONCLUSION: Gallstones usually form in the gallbladder; but, they also may form anywhere there is bile: in the intrahepatic, hepatic, common bile, and cystic ducts. They form when cholesterol and other materials found in bile create 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 Diseases: How To Prevent and Cure Them". Want more information Please go to us at our websites@Diabetes & Cancer Secrets OR Go To Heart Disease & Obesity Secrets. You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is left unchanged.
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