Gallstone disease is commonly referred to as “gallstones” and is often referred to as cholelithiasis. It refers to the occurrence of stones in the gallbladder, liver, common bile duct, and other areas. Depending on the location of the stones, gallstone disease is often classified as gallbladder stone disease, common bile duct stone disease, hepatobiliary duct stone disease, or a combination of these areas. The clinical manifestations of gallstone disease include biliary colic in the right upper abdomen, jaundice and fever. The pain often attacks at night, after a full meal or after eating high-fat food, and the pain may radiate to the right shoulder or right scapula.
I. How gallstones are produced
It is generally believed that the production of gallstones is related to bile stagnation, bacterial infection and changes in the physicochemical composition of bile. Gallstones occur in the patient’s gallbladder, intrahepatic bile duct and common bile duct and are not identical in type and composition. The size of gallstones varies from small ones like silt to large ones that can fill the gallbladder like an egg. According to the composition of stones, gallstones can be divided into three types.
1. cholesterol stones: the main component is cholesterol; 2. bile pigment stones: the main component is calcium salts, bilirubin, etc.; 3. mixed stones.
There are many causes of gallstones, including altered bile composition, decreased bile salt concentration, supersaturation of cholesterol, increased glycoprotein content in bile, gallbladder emptying dysfunction, altered bile fluid dynamics, genetic factors of cholesterol synthesis and the influence of certain drugs. In contrast, bile duct stones are mostly associated with bile duct roundworms, biliary tract infections, strictures and other factors. In recent years, the incidence of gallbladder stones has been on the rise, especially in urban areas. Biliary stones are relatively common in remote rural areas.
Second, who are vulnerable to gallstones
Gallstones are a common and frequent disease that endangers human health, with an incidence rate of about 10% in China and a rising trend year by year (the incidence rate in some foreign regions is as high as 16% or more).
Gallstone disease has a certain genetic tendency, rare in children, generally more common in middle-aged people, women are higher than men. The incidence is higher in urban than in rural areas, higher in mental workers than in manual workers, and higher in hyperlipidemia than in normal lipids.
The following groups of people are most likely to suffer from gallstones: middle-aged and elderly people (a statistic shows that the incidence of people over 60 years old is as high as 28%); women over 40 years old; people who often skip breakfast; people with a sweet tooth; people on a high-fat diet; people on a long-term vegetarian diet; people with hypothyroidism; hepatitis patients; obese people; people with diabetes; people with a family history of the disease; people who often smoke, drink heavily, take oral contraceptives and take narcotic drugs.
How to prevent the occurrence of gallstones
In order to prevent gallstones from occurring, the following factors should be considered
1, it is advisable to sleep flat or to the right side, such as sleeping on the left side with the mouth of the gallbladder facing downward, the stones will easily fall from the gallbladder into the neck of the gallbladder under the action of gravity and become embedded, causing biliary colic attacks.
2, usually eat less high-fat, high cholesterol food, such as fatty meat, animal offal, egg yolk, roe, etc., to reduce the release of cholecystokinin. Do not eat greasy and spicy food during the attack, and eat less and more meals.
3, avoid drinking alcohol and eating less sugar.
4, often eat foods that can inhibit gallstones, such as ginger, head of green cabbage, spinach, spring bamboo shoots, onions, tomatoes, lotus white, string beans, large green peppers, corn, pumpkin, white radish, lotus root, etc..
5, often eat foods containing vitamin A. Foods containing more vitamin A are yellow and green vegetables, tomatoes, carrots, corn, etc.
6, to pay attention to breakfast. Without breakfast, bile secretion decreases, the content of bile acid decreases, and the ratio of cholesterol is out of balance and easy to form cholesterol stones.
7, neither overworked, but also to carry out appropriate physical labor and exercise to reduce bile stagnation and aggravate the disease.
8, keep the mood of the mood, so that the bile secretion is normal, not easy to stagnation.
9, fat people should pay attention to weight loss.
10, to keep the bowel movement smooth, can eat more coarse fiber food.
11.It is not advisable to sleep or sit for a long time immediately after eating, you can walk or gently press the right upper abdomen to promote the secretion and fluidity of bile.
12.In areas with high prevalence of roundworm disease or roundworm patients should pay attention to prevention and active deworming. Some data show that 70% of gallstones are composed of roundworm eggs or roundworm residues.