Signs of pain when suffering from acute pancreatitis due to alcohol

The article was professionally consulted by MSc Vu Van Quan - Department of General Surgery & Anesthesia - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.

Alcoholism is one of the bad habits that increases the risk of acute pancreatitis. Most of the patients hospitalized for treatment of acute pancreatitis caused by alcohol are in a state of severe damage to the lungs, liver, kidneys, heart failure, blood clotting disorders... extremely life-threatening.

Pancreatitis is a disease in which the pancreas becomes inflamed. Pancreatic damage occurs when digestive enzymes are activated before they are released into the small intestine and begin to attack the pancreas.
Depending on the condition, the patient can have acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis.
Acute pancreatitis: is a sudden attack that causes pancreatitis and is often associated with severe upper abdominal pain. The pain can be severe and last several days. Other symptoms of acute pancreatitis include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, and fever.
Chronic pancreatitis is a persistent inflammation of the pancreas, a progressive disorder involving destruction of the pancreas, usually following an episode of acute pancreatitis. The main cause is that the patient has a habit of drinking a lot of alcohol, the disease causes serious damage to the pancreas.

There are many causes of acute pancreatitis in which alcohol is one of the main causes
Symptoms of acute pancreatitis due to alcohol and beer occur very quickly and are complicated. Almost 100% of patients present with abdominal pain, typically abdominal pain that appears suddenly and very intensely in the area above the navel, the pain spreads to the chest and to the sides of the ribs and then obliquely to the back.
According to statistics, the majority of patients with acute pancreatitis caused by alcohol and beer all have complications of necrotizing hemorrhage, cardiovascular collapse and kidney failure
Abdominal pain when acute pancreatitis due to alcohol is often severe but only lasts after a few hours, especially in obese patients, it is very common to have a natural onset of pain after drinking alcohol, eating meat.
In addition to abdominal pain, the patient also has signs of vomiting and nausea, bowel obstruction due to functional intestinal paralysis.... These symptoms of acute pancreatitis caused by alcohol are often mistaken for diseases related to sugar. Therefore, patients are often subjective, are hospitalized late and have a high risk of death.

Patients who want to treat pancreatitis caused by alcohol need to be hospitalized, when the condition is stable and under control, the doctor will give a treatment plan for the cause of the disease.
Initially, the patient will be asked to fast for a few days to give the pancreas time to recover, once the inflammation is under control, the patient can start drinking clear liquids, eating bland foods and then eat and drink as usual. However, if the patient's condition is still unsatisfactory and the patient still has abdominal pain, the doctor may prescribe intravenous nutrient solution to help the patient get good nutrition during treatment. sick.
In addition, the patient can use analgesics to relieve severe abdominal pain, intravenous drugs for patients with severe pancreatitis may have abdominal effusion....
Some methods Treatment of pancreatitis according to the cause of the disease includes:
Treatment of alcoholism; Supplementing enzymes to improve digestion; Changes in diet; Suitable mode of living.

Although very simple, by changing lifestyle habits can help control acute pancreatitis safely and effectively. In order not to get this dangerous disease we need to:
Give up the habit of drinking alcohol; No smoking; Build a scientific, healthy, low-fat diet, eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, whole grains...; Drink a lot of water; To support good treatment of alcoholic pancreatitis, the patient must be persistent when following the treatment regimen given by the doctor, especially giving up the habit of drinking alcohol. If the abstinence process is not serious, acute pancreatitis can progress to chronic pancreatitis and leave unpredictable consequences.

From October 2019, Vinmec Hai Phong Hospital welcomes specialists in Gastroenterology - Liver, bile, and pancreas from 108 Military Central Hospital to visit periodically for diseases of the stomach, esophagus, colorectal, etc. Liver, spleen, biliary tract, pancreas, anal fistula, rectal prolapse, gastrointestinal cancer screening... At the request of the patient, Senior Doctor Le Van Thanh - Head of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery – Military Central Hospital 108 will directly operate. Schedule on Saturday, surgery on Sunday so that customers can easily arrange their personal time and have more time to recover after the intervention.