Gall Bladder Symptoms
What is the gall bladder?
The gall bladder is a little sac-like organ that stores the bile that the liver produces. Bile is required in the breakdown of fats so whenever you eat, the gall bladder gets stimulated to contract and release bile into the small intestine to help with fat digestion. Consequently, anything that affects the gall bladder could have residual effects on the liver. Just as stones can form in the kidney, 'stones' (or calculi) can also form in the gall bladder which would result in the following symptoms :
Gall bladder Disease Symptoms
- pain in the right side of the body, just under the ribcage
- fever if there is secondary infection by bacteria
- jaundice - as the gall bladder is clogged up, the bile stored cannot escape and gets 'dammed up' and the yellow tinge of jaundice occurs
- peritonitis could result if the gall bladder bursts or leaks infected pus into the surrounding area. This is a serious life threatening condition.
Note : gall bladder stones can occur with no apparent symptoms at all, some will be small enough to flush into the digestive system. However, their presence could indicate future problems if the gall bladder stones increase in size or if the duct out of the gall bladder gets blocked. In these cases, the above symptoms would apply.
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Gall bladder symptoms
