Here is everything you need to know about a gallbladder attack

You must have heard about heart attacks. But have you heard about a gallbladder attack? It can be dangerous like any other organ attack and needs immediate medical attention.

The gall bladder, a small sack-looking organ, is located on the upper side of the right abdomen. This organ mainly helps in digestion. Bile is stored in this organ.

This digestive fluid helps the body in breaking down fats. Gallbladder stones are produced in the gallbladder. It happens because the cholesterol tends to harden up in the bile. Once gallstones are formed, the bile cannot get out. This can cause extreme pain and fever.

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What is gallbladder attack?

Gallbladder attack is because of gallstones. (image by Scott Webb/Unsplash)

This kind of attack can also be known as a gallstone attack. Gallstones which are formed, affect the gallbladder. The bile cannot move out of the gallbladder. This can cause a lot of pain.

There is inflammation too. This inflammation is caused by the extra bile that gets accumulated.

Mostly, pain in the upper side of the abdomen means that you have some problem in your gallbladder. Let us now understand the signs and symptoms of this attack.

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Signs of a gallbladder attack

A gallbladder attack can cause severe pain in the abdomen (Image by Zygimantas Dukauskas/Unsplash)

Signs of this attack can vary in individuals. This pain can last for a long time or for some time and the intensity of pain can be more or even mild in some cases. There can be cramping in some rare cases.

The stomach area can get tender and it can become hard to sit up or move at all. Whenever you eat fatty food, this attack becomes worse as the body has to produce more bile to digest the excess fats.

Next time, whenever you are having an unhealthy meal with lots of fats, maybe think twice.

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Symptoms of gallbladder attack

Excess bile can result in yellow urine (Image by CDC/Unsplash)

The symptoms of this attack are listed below:

1. The most common symptom is pain.

2. Nausea

3. Vomitting

4. Pain after eating

5. Brown or yellow urine

6. Yellow eyes

7. Yellow skin

8. Fever

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What causes this attack

Bile juice is yellow (Image by Elevate/Unsplash)

There is an imbalance of bile because of which these gallstones are formed. The gallstones that get stuck and cannot come out of the duct, stop the flow of bile. This causes pain, till the path is clear again.

So if a person is getting this attack, there is nothing that can be done for the time being. Once the stone passes and bile can flow in and out freely, then the pain will subside on its own.

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Treatment

Gallbladder surgery to evade gallbladder attack (Image by Olga Kononenko/Unsplash)

There are gallstones in our body that are small and do not cause any problems. But if you experience pain because of this, you should get it treated.

The most common way is to remove the gallbladder. You should at first, go for an ultrasound to check for any problems. Your doctor will then proceed with the treatment after seeing the results of your scan.

There are many ways of treating, including non-surgical treatments. Medicines are given to break the stones into small fragments, which can pass. But the surgical method of removal is better as you will not get any stones ever in the future.

Also, you can live fairly the same way without a gallbladder. So if you get a gallbladder stone or attack, which treatment will you choose?

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You do not have to worry about bile, even after gall bladder removal. Your liver will still continue to make bile. But prevention is better than a cure or surgery. So eat healthy, drink healthy, and prevent a gall bladder attack in the first place.