Identify abdominal pain caused by gallstones

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

Gallstones are common, especially in women who are middle-aged, overweight or have high blood cholesterol levels. Usually, if gallstones are small and painless, surgery is not needed. In contrast, when gallstones cause pain, emergency surgery or cholecystectomy is often indicated. So how to recognize the signs of gallstone pain for timely treatment?

In simple terms, gallstones are abnormal deposits of bile, forming hard, solid particles like stones (pellets) or in the form of mucus like mud (mudstones).
In the past, helminths were a causative factor but today this cause is no longer common. Currently, gallstone disease is mainly caused by metabolic disorders that change the amount of cholesterol, bile pigments and bile salts in bile, creating conditions for stone formation. In addition, pregnant women, people with obesity, diabetes ... have a higher risk of gallstones.

Biliary colic is the most common symptom of gallstones. A typical biliary colic has the following characteristics: Compared with biliary colic due to gallstones, biliary colic usually has a less sudden onset and less severe pain. .In addition to abdominal pain, the patient also has other symptoms such as:
Fever with sweating, chills: Due to biliary tract infection, cholecystitis. The fever can be as high as 38-39 degrees Celsius, accompanied by severe gallstone pain, sweating, but sometimes only mild but prolonged fever. This is one of the points to distinguish symptoms of gallstones and stomach diseases; Jaundice, yellow eyes: The degree in each person is different depending on the degree of biliary obstruction, often accompanied by symptoms such as white stools, itchy skin. This is also one of the points to distinguish symptoms of gallstones and stomach diseases; Digestive disorders: Acute pain in the gallbladder can cause nausea and vomiting, bloating, slow digestion, loss of appetite, fear of fat, which is easily confused with gastroduodenal disease and gastrointestinal disease.

As soon as the symptoms of gallstone pain are recognized, it is necessary to find ways to reduce and proactively treat them early, before leading to more dangerous complications. We can apply temporary pain relief measures at home if the pain is not too severe:
Warm the abdomen with a thermos bag or warm water bottle, place the heat pack on the painful abdomen, gently massage, the heat released will help ease the pain; Drink fruit juices such as orange juice, lemon juice or vegetable juice. These vitamin-rich drinks are very good for health and also very tasty, helping to lift the spirit, soothe the pain of gallstones. Depending on the type of disease, the doctor may prescribe medication or surgery. Gallstones can be cured by surgically removing the gallbladder and removing the gallstones. This is usually done laparoscopically (making several small incisions to insert instruments into the abdomen). With this method, the recovery is quite fast and the patient can go home one day after surgery.
In some cases, the doctor may prescribe medicine to dissolve gallstones if the surgery is too dangerous for the patient. However, patients need to use the drug for a long time and the disease can recur when the drug is stopped. Patients with gallstones need to abstain from eating fat, especially fatty meats such as cows, chickens, pigs... Can drink herbal juices that support the treatment of diseases such as mineral water, human water. bare, artiso.

The most effective prevention of gallstones is to perform periodic examinations to promptly detect and treat the cause of gallstones in patients such as disease in the terminal intestine that reduces absorption of bile salts, dyslipidemia... ; Control eating to prevent overweight and obesity, avoid eating a high-calorie diet, avoid taking estrogen drugs to treat people with pre-existing gallstone disease; Periodically, once every 6 months, deworming, eating cooked food and drinking boiling water to avoid worm infection.

Gallstones and other liver and biliary diseases will be accurately detected and evaluated in detail when you join the Comprehensive - Hepatobiliary Screening Package of Vinmec International General Hospital. The purpose of this package is to:
Evaluate the liver's ability to work through liver enzyme tests; Evaluation of bile function, vascular nutrition; Early screening for liver cancer; Performing tests such as Total blood cell analysis, blood clotting ability, screening for hepatitis B, C; Assessment of hepatobiliary status through ultrasound images and diseases that have the potential to affect liver disease or worsen liver disease; In-depth analysis of parameters to evaluate hepatobiliary function through laboratory and subclinical tests; the risk of affecting the liver and early screening for hepatobiliary cancer. Participating in Vinmec's Comprehensive Hepatobiliary Screening Package, customers will be able to perform the most advanced screening tests to fully and comprehensively assess liver and biliary health. Medical services that promote professionalism and dedication at Vinmec will help you have the most secure experience.
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.
If you have any questions, please contact us to book online HERE.