Inflammation of the liver and gallbladder: symptoms and treatment

Neglect of the rules of a healthy lifestyle, disordered eating, self-medication with potent medications, all these factors can lead to such a pathological condition as liver inflammation.

In the language of specialists, liver inflammation is called hepatitis. It can be transient (temporary) or become chronic, progressing to cirrhosis and even cancer. It is extremely difficult to combat such consequences of chronic hepatitis, therefore in medicine much attention is paid to prevention. If the disease has already occurred, it is worth finding out what symptoms it manifests and whether it can be treated at home.

Principles and methods of drug treatment of gallbladder diseases

What diseases of the “collector of bile” can a person develop and how to treat the gallbladder for these pathologies? Today the most common diseases are:

• dyskinesia, or dysfunction, of the biliary organ and biliary tract (BDT) - occurs as a result of the innervation of the organ and, as a consequence, a violation of the contractility of its walls, due to which bile is released into the duodenum untimely or in insufficient quantities;
• cholecystitis is an inflammatory process in the mucous membrane of the bile reservoir, most often caused by infections: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, strepto- or staphylococci, Proteus, E. coli;
• cholelithiasis (GSD) - the occurrence of stones due to a violation of the chemical composition of the contents of the bile sac or an imbalance of the components of bile: bile acids, proteins, minerals, cholesterol;
• cholesterosis is a type of cholelithiasis, when the walls of the bladder thicken due to cholesterol deposits;
• a variety of parasitic infestations from protozoa (Giardia, Echinococcus), affecting liver cells, to large helminths (flukes, roundworms), penetrating the bile ducts and living in the organ.
• all sorts of kinks in the bile sac - as a rule, a hereditary condition in which the anatomical shape of the bladder changes, and the case when drugs for the treatment of the gallbladder will not help;
• tumor diseases - from benign formations (polyps) to malignant (cancerous), which happens much less frequently.

As you might guess, the basic principles of treating the gallbladder with medications are:

• elimination of the cause of the disease (etiotropic therapy);
• restoration of normal organ activity (pathogenetic therapy);
• symptomatic therapy, the purpose of which is pain relief.

Treatment and choice of medications usually depend on the form of pathology affecting the bile-containing organ.

For biliary dyskinesia

Depending on the type of dysfunction (dyskinesia) of the biliary storage organ, complex treatment is usually used, consisting of:

• antispasmodics;
• cholekinetics (drugs to reduce the tone of the gallbladder and increase the tone of the bladder itself);
• choleretics (means to enhance the production and separation of bile);
• substances for performing tubeless tubes (Magnesium sulfate, Sorbitol, Xylitol);
• tonics that correct the functioning of the autonomic nervous system.

To improve digestion, which is often impaired by dyskinesia, enzymatic medications (for example, Mezim) are used.

For cholecystitis

For inflammation (cholecystitis), drugs from the groups of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and choleretic drugs are usually used to treat the gallbladder.

To relieve characteristic pain under the right rib, antispasmodics can also be used in treatment, and hepatoprotectors can be used to maintain liver function.

For parasitic infestations

Damage to an organ by helminths usually requires appropriate therapy with the parallel use of anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective drugs.

For cholesterosis, tumors and cholelithiasis

When excess cholesterol is deposited on the walls of the bladder, various tumors and stones, it is useless to use medicines for the gallbladder; these diseases require surgical treatment, and in the case of malignant tumors, also chemotherapy.

How to treat cholecystitis at home using folk remedies

It is not difficult to prepare a medicinal infusion or decoction against inflammation of the walls of the gallbladder. Natural remedies, like pharmaceutical ones, have contraindications and side effects. Therefore, you should not start independent treatment, which can last more than a month, without consulting a general practitioner or gastroenterologist.

Rosehip and other herbal decoctions

Treatment of cholecystitis at home will make it more effective:

• May rosehip. Prepare a collection of 4 tbsp. l. berries of the plant, the same amount of crushed nettle and birch leaves, 20 g of knotweed, St. John's wort and cumin flowers are added to them. One large spoon of raw material is brewed with 300 ml of water and heated in a steam bath for 5 minutes. The medicine is filtered after 2 hours. Take 125 ml warm before meals for three days. The procedure is repeated after a three-day break.
• Dandelion root. One large spoon of dry crushed roots is poured into 500 ml of ordinary water, put on fire, removed as soon as the liquid begins to boil. After cooling, strain. Drink 1.5 glasses of medicine per day. Treatment lasts 1-2 weeks.
• Barberry. Tea made from the leaves and crushed fruits of the bush is beneficial. In the evening, pour 1 tsp into a thermos. raw materials, pour 250 ml of boiling water. The drug is drunk the next day. The duration of treatment is two weeks.
• Elecampane. The root is used for decoction; it has a slight choleretic and anti-inflammatory effect. In the evening, 7 g of crushed raw materials are poured into a glass of cold water, in the morning the liquid is put on fire and allowed to boil. After cooling, drink ⅓ glass of the medicine before breakfast, lunch and dinner. The phytotherapeutic course lasts 30 days.
• Oregano. This herb for cholecystitis is brewed as tea (1 teaspoon of raw material is poured into 250 ml of boiling water), and consumed ⅓ glass until recovery.

Milk thistle

Effective folk remedies for cholecystitis most often involve the use of milk thistle seeds (synonyms: thistle, rosewort). For chronic inflammation of the gall bladder, use the following recipe.

In case of malnutrition, cholecystitis often occurs in combination with other diseases. The inflammatory process spreads to the rest of the digestive tract, and the patient is diagnosed with gastritis, pancreatitis, hepatitis or intestinal diseases. For all these pathologies, it is recommended to normalize the diet, and then begin treatment with medications or traditional methods.

For the medicinal collection you need to take:

• 50 g each of milk thistle and celandine;
• four large spoons of cumin flowers, knotweed, marigold;
• 200 g chopped rose hips.

How to prepare: pour two tablespoons of raw material into 1 liter of cold water, boil, and keep on low heat for about ten minutes. After half an hour, strain.

How to take: drink 150 ml decoction 3-4 times a day for a whole month without breaks.

Olive oil

Cholecystitis can be cured with olive oil. The product is a source of fats that enhance the motor function of the biliary tract. You need to consume at least two tablespoons of oil per day; for this purpose, you can season salads with it.

Medicines from the group of antispasmodics

To relieve pain in the above pathologies, antispasmodics for the gallbladder are used. The list of these medications is familiar to many:

• Drotaverine is a drug from the pharmaceutical group of myotropic antispasmodics, has a myotropic (muscle relaxant), vasodilator, hypotensive (lowering blood pressure) effect;
• No-spa is a medicine whose active ingredient is drotaverine hydrochloride, which provides the same properties as the previous drug;
• Spazmalgon is a combined pain reliever (analgesic + antispasmodic), active ingredients: metamizole sodium, fenpiverinium bromide, pitofen;
• Noshpalgin is a combined painkiller (opioid analgesic + non-narcotic analgesic + antispasmodic) with active ingredients: codeine, paracetamol, drotaverine.

Choleretic agents

The most popular drugs that dilute bile in the bladder and help clear the bile ducts most often have several properties in addition to choleretic:

• hepatoprotective;
• antioxidant;
• regenerating;
• antidepressant.

Gallbladder preparations with one or more of the following properties:

• Ursoliv, Ursosan, Exchol, Ursodez, Livodex and other drugs with ursodeoxycholic acid as an active ingredient;
• Heptor, Heptral, Ademethionine with the active ingredient ademetionine;
• Cholenzym is a combined choleretic drug of animal origin, related to bile acid preparations;
• Allochol is a plant-based choleretic medicine for the gallbladder and cystic ducts;
• Gepabene - plant-based capsules (fumewort, milk thistle) with a choleretic effect;
• Holosas is not a tablet for the gallbladder, but a choleretic drug of plant origin in the form of syrup, which makes it possible to use it even in young children.

Tablets from the group of hepatoprotectors

Since diseases of the bile-storage organ almost always affect the condition of the bile-producing organ - the liver, it is also useful to take medicines for the gallbladder and liver with a hepatoprotective effect, that is, with the ability to protect and restore liver cells - hepatocytes.

We have already familiarized ourselves with some of these tablets for diseases of the biliary organ, the name of which indicates their composition in the previous paragraphs - these are drugs with ursodeoxycholic acid or with ademetionine.

You can also include drugs with ademetionine as a hepatoprotective substance in the treatment of the gallbladder:

A good therapeutic response from the biliary organ was achieved with drugs for the treatment of the biliary tract with phospholipids:

Also popular in the treatment of the bile reservoir are drugs with the active ingredient ornithine:

Some combination herbal medicines also contribute to the restoration of liver cells: LIV-52, Dipana, etc.

Painkillers

When considering how and how to treat the bile organ, it is impossible to ignore such an issue as the use of painkillers. When the bile sac hurts, treatment with antispasmodic drugs is considered the most optimal. The currently known antispasmodics and complex painkillers with analgesic and antispasmodic effects have already been discussed above. You can supplement the list of medications for the gallbladder with a list of such painkillers:

• Paracetamol is an anti-inflammatory drug with a mild analgesic effect, most often used in the treatment of children in the form of syrups;
• Analgin is a non-opioid analgesic with metamizole sodium as an active ingredient;
• Ketanov is a medicine from the NSAID group with a pronounced analgesic effect due to the active component ketorolac.

Antibiotic and antiparasitic drugs

As already mentioned, the causes of inflammatory processes in the bile reservoir can be bacterial and helminthic infestations. In such cases, treatment with antibacterial agents (antibiotics) or antiparasitic drugs is necessary. However, it should be recalled once again that medications should be used only as prescribed by a doctor and only based on the results of diagnostic studies.

It is unwise to independently determine the presence of bacteria or worms based on characteristic signs (if someone you know “also had this”). And a mistake in this case can be very expensive, because the incorrect and unlawful use of antibiotics and anthelmintic drugs can lead to unpredictable consequences. Therefore, before treating the gallbladder, medications and the method of their use should be discussed with your doctor.

Causes of liver inflammation

Inflammatory liver diseases have different causes. The best known are viral hepatitis caused by viruses of the same name (hepatitis A virus, hepatitis B virus, etc.). Other viral diseases can also lead to liver inflammation: rubella, herpes, cytomegalovirus, etc. The cause can also be bacteria or helminthic infestations.

Since the liver takes the hit of toxins, alcoholic hepatitis, drug-induced hepatitis, and toxic hepatitis occur when certain substances are abused or poisoned.

Useful video

For more information on the treatment of gallbladder diseases, watch this video:

Cholecystitis is an inflammatory process in the gallbladder that occurs against the background of a bacterial infection, biliary dyskinesia and the presence or absence of stones in the organ. The variety of causes, development mechanisms and symptoms of the pathology has necessitated the creation of effective drugs that could help the patient overcome the disease and improve its course. For this purpose, the main groups of drugs are used: antibiotics, antiparasitics, choleretic, antispasmodics, cholekinetics, cholelitholytics.

Cholecystitis is an inflammation that is localized in the gallbladder. There are 2 forms of pathology:

The second can be stone (calculous) or stoneless.

A frequently encountered option is chronic calculous cholecystitis, which develops against the background of cholelithiasis.

The following main factors play a role in the development of the inflammatory process of the organ:

• Microbial infection.
• Inflammation of the pancreas, which can spread to the bladder.
• The presence of dyskinesia (violation of the tone of the bladder and biliary tract).
• Presence of stones in the organ.
• Poor nutrition.
• Parasitic diseases (giardiasis, opisthorchiasis, amoebiasis, etc.).

The chronic course of calculous cholecystitis is periodically accompanied by exacerbations, which are known as attacks of biliary colic. They arise due to the “wedging” of a stone into the neck of the bladder, which causes the organ to spasm, trying to push the stone out. The main symptom of an attack is severe pain in the right hypochondrium, which can radiate to the right shoulder blade, shoulder, or collarbone.

Often, biliary colic cannot be treated conservatively, and the appearance of additional symptoms, such as fever, sweating, vomiting of bile, which does not bring relief, indicates the development of acute calculous cholecystitis, requiring surgical intervention.

Chronic cholecystitis is an inflammatory process in the gallbladder, accompanied by nagging pain in the hypochondrium after drinking alcohol or fatty foods. With such inflammation, the full functioning of the organ is disrupted; stones are formed in it, preventing the outflow of bile.

Treatment

If the cause of inflammation is known, first of all you need to work on eliminating it. Treat concomitant diseases, adjust your diet. If hepatitis occurs as a result of excessive intake of various medications or alcoholic beverages, reduce medication intake and give up alcohol.

If cholecystitis is accompanied by the presence of large stones, a decision may be made to crush the stones with ultrasound or to remove the gallbladder surgically.

Medication

For viral inflammation of the liver, drugs are prescribed that stop the development of the hepatitis virus. These are Sofosbuvir, Velpatasvir, Simeprevir.

For cholecystitis, choleretic drugs are prescribed, including those of plant origin: Lyobil, Holosas. To eliminate spasm of the ducts, Spazmalgon and No-shpu are used. Antibiotics for inflammation of the gallbladder are prescribed in cases where the cause is a staphylococcal or streptococcal infection.

Bacterial inflammation is diagnosed using the leukocyte formula of a general blood test. To prescribe antibiotics, a doctor may only need to know about the patient’s other diseases. If the inflammation is caused by protozoa or parasites, treatment requires antiprotozoal and anthelmintic drugs.

Folk remedies

Along with pills, alternative medicine will help with inflammation. A universal folk remedy for inflammation of the liver and gallbladder is infusions and decoctions of herbs. Honey is added to the finished medicinal drink to taste, unless it is contraindicated for the patient due to other diseases. Liver tea options:

• add 4 tablespoons of nettle to 2 glasses of water, boil for 5 minutes;
• Pour 8 tablespoons of young dandelion leaves into a liter of warm water, wrap, and let steep for 4-8 hours;
• Brew a teaspoon of a mixture of wormwood and sage with a glass of boiling water, leave for an hour, drink 100 ml three times a day;
• Brew a tablespoon of corn silk with a glass of boiling water;
• You can buy ready-made liver mixture at the pharmacy and prepare it according to the instructions on the package.

For chronic inflammation of the liver, gall bladder and bile ducts, a procedure called tubage is performed. 50-70 ml of sunflower oil is heated in a water bath, drunk in the morning on an empty stomach or before bed. Then they lie down on their right side, placing a heating pad under it. Tubage is contraindicated during pregnancy, fever, abdominal pain, stones in the liver and gall bladder. For any chronic diseases, you need to agree on the possibility of carrying out the procedure with your doctor.

Diet

Dietary recommendations are the same for those suffering from liver and gallbladder diseases. It is advisable for patients to eat small portions 5-6 times a day. Breaks between meals longer than 3 hours are undesirable. When traveling or at work, it is advisable to have food for a light snack with you.

For diseases of the gallbladder, ducts and liver, fried, fatty, spicy, and smoked foods should be excluded. Saltiness, marinades and alcohol are prohibited. In case of acute inflammation or exacerbation of chronic ailments, fish and meat can only be eaten boiled. For chronic diseases in remission, periodic consumption of low-fat baked foods is allowed. Mushrooms, legumes, soda, strong coffee, sour fruits, berries and vegetables should be avoided.

The basis of nutrition should be:

• porridges and side dishes from cereals and pasta;
• boiled and baked vegetables, some raw vegetables and fruits;
• boiled, steamed meat, low-fat fish;
• vegetable broth soups;
• dairy and fermented milk products of moderate fat content;
• eggs, omelettes;
• bread, crackers, savory pastries;
• The use of honey, marshmallows, marshmallows, and non-sour jam is allowed.

Acute inflammation with severe pain and fever requires bed rest. If the patient’s health is close to normal, moderate physical activity should not be neglected. Walking, outdoor games, exercise and light work contribute to the timely outflow of bile.

The liver is most often called the filter of our body. But this definition seems rather narrow. Indeed, in the largest gland, without which a person cannot live even for several hours, thousands of chemical reactions take place every minute. It neutralizes and converts foreign substances into harmless ones, synthesizes glucose, provides the body with energy, participates in all metabolic processes, and produces bile for digestion.

Anatomically, the gallbladder is also part of the liver. The reservoir for storing bile ensures the normal functioning of the pancreas, duodenum and stomach, releasing bile through the bile ducts in a timely manner and creating favorable conditions for digestion.

When the functions of these organs are impaired, the body is poisoned, diseases develop, and the quality of life decreases. Therefore, it is important to prevent diseases, and if signs of ill health appear, take measures to eliminate them. The article talks about liver and gallbladder diseases, their symptoms and treatment using different methods.

What is chronic cholecystitis

Chronic cholecystitis is a long-term inflammatory process in the gallbladder, periodically followed by attacks of exacerbation. Often, the disease is accompanied by enterocolitis and pancreatitis.

When bile stagnates, hard formations (stones) form in the gallbladder. This kind of cholecystitis is called calculous, and if inflammation occurs without the formation of stones, then it is called acalculous.

Acalculous cholecystitis develops as a result of infection in the gallbladder, which leads to inflammation and gradual destruction of the organ. Associated factors are a weak immune system, impaired liver function, degeneration of the mucous membrane and inflammation of the duodenum.

Calculous cholecystitis is much less common, and the formation of stones is facilitated by thickening and changes in the composition of bile against the background of severe inflammation.

At the same time, cholesterol accumulates in sediment and is not excreted from the body, forming small hard stones. The reason for this may be poor nutrition, abuse of fatty foods, excess weight, as well as the presence of infectious diseases and diabetes.

The nature of pain in the disease

Attacks of a fully developed disease are not yet acute and painful, but background dull pain may occur:

• after waking up (associated with the accumulation of bile during the night);
• when moving (for example, walking - associated with mechanical pressure on the gallbladder);
• after eating (associated with a reflex contraction of the bile-storage organ).

This is how the gallbladder manifests itself, the inflammation of which is in the initial stage of development of cholecystitis.

The disease, which has entered the clinical stage, is characterized by the following pain manifestations:

• girdle pain in the lumbar region, hypochondrium, radiating to the sternum and right side of the neck, accompanied by nausea;
• abdominal pain accompanied by diarrhea;
• stifling pain during inflammation of the gallbladder covers the entire hypochondrium, occurs when stones pass and when the bile duct is blocked.

Signs and causes of the disease

Sometimes, chronic cholecystitis appears as a result of the acute course of the disease, but more often, it develops as an independent pathology. The main cause of the chronic form of the disease is considered to be infection.

Possible sources of infection:

The main cause of cholecystitis is prolonged stagnation of bile and its poor excretion. This pathology occurs against the background of a harmful, unhealthy diet, consumption of fatty foods, and overeating.

The main symptom indicating the presence of the disease is aching pain in the hypochondrium, radiating under the shoulder blade, into the shoulder, which intensifies with physical activity, after drinking alcohol. Patients often complain of belching, abnormal bowel movements, bloating, weakness, sweating, nausea and bitterness in the mouth.

How does pathology manifest itself?

• The first sign of cholecystitis is paroxysmal pain in the right hypochondrium. Moreover, pain can radiate to the shoulder joint, shoulder blades, and collarbone. The pain may be mild at first, but after a while it will intensify and become unbearable. The pain intensifies when you inhale. In some cases, it can even cause breathing to stop. The pain can also intensify if a person raises his right leg, coughs, or talks.
• The person suddenly begins to feel sick, and this condition inevitably ends in vomiting. Moreover, they will tear a person repeatedly.
• A characteristic sign of acute cholecystitis is bitterness in the mouth. Bile is present in the vomit.

• Body temperature rises. In this case, symptoms of general intoxication of the body are observed - fatigue, drowsiness, muscle, joint, and headache. Over time, a fever may develop. The temperature rises to 38 0 C.
• Increased heart rate. The number of beats per minute reaches 120-130.
• Some patients experienced symptoms such as yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes of the eyes during acute cholecystitis. This is characterized by the fact that the gallbladder channels become blocked with calcifications (stones).
• Symptoms such as dryness and coating on the tongue are characteristic of inflammation.
• On palpation, severe pain appears in the liver area.

Symptoms of inflammation are pronounced. It is simply impossible not to notice them. But self-treatment or simply taking painkillers at home is pointless and unacceptable.

By the way, death can occur from perforation of the gallbladder, peritonitis and, as a result, sepsis. Delayed treatment can cause complications such as tissue death (gangrene). This condition is extremely life-threatening and requires immediate surgical intervention.

1. Catarrhal form. It is considered the easiest.
2. The destructive acute form of cholecystitis is conventionally divided into purulent (phlegmonous), gangrenous, fibrinous (also called diphtheritic).

Diagnostics

The occurrence of such symptoms requires urgent consultation with a doctor to clarify the diagnosis. Palpation will help determine the location of the pain and its nature.

Cholecystitis may be a consequence of parasitic infestation, which requires testing for helminths. A general blood test will show nonspecific signs of inflammation, such as increased levels of leukocytes, high ESR. Biochemistry will reveal elevated levels of AST and ALT, phosphatase.

After this, the doctor should prescribe an ultrasound, duodenal intubation, and cholecystography. Using ultrasound, you can determine the thickness of the bladder walls and the presence of stones.

Duodenal intubation allows not only to determine impaired organ motility, but also to take a bile analysis. When examining it, you can find out the cause of the infection and conduct an antibiotic sensitivity test.

Cholecystography will help to see the shape, motility and size of the gallbladder, and arteriography can reveal the thickness of the walls and the proliferation of blood vessels.

Main symptoms

The main symptom of the disease is pain, which is short-term and intense. Most often, pain occurs when there is a violation of the diet or during severe stress, which results in the formation of a spasm in the bile ducts.

Inflammation of the gall bladder is accompanied by a bitter taste in the mouth, dyspepsia, also characterized by belching, nausea and vomiting.

The patient experiences increased sweating, fatigue, restless sleep and irritability. When passing general tests, an increase in the level of leukocytes and ESR is diagnosed.

Objectives of therapeutic measures

The main goal of treatment is not only to relieve symptoms, but also to dissolve stones (if any) and relieve inflammation. When chronic cholecystitis worsens, a person suffers from severe pain, so doctors often prescribe antispasmodics and analgesics.

In addition, it is necessary to take enzymes (Motilium, Mezim) and antacids (Almagel, Gastal), which help normalize digestion and relieve inflammation. Such symptomatic therapy requires a long time and simultaneous adherence to a diet.

Find out advice on chronic cholecystitis from the video:

Prognosis and prevention

The prognosis for recovery in uncomplicated forms of cholecystitis is favorable. Calculous forms are more difficult to cure. In the presence of chronic cholecystitis, long-term (lifelong) remission can be achieved by following medical prescriptions - taking prescribed medications, eating right, and conducting an annual ultrasound of the biliary tract. An unfavorable outcome is possible in the case of severe purulent forms of cholecystitis and multiple bulk stones. In this case, the only way out is complete excision of the gallbladder.

To prevent the development of cholecystitis, it is necessary to eliminate the negative causes leading to damage to the gallbladder - get rid of bad habits and excess weight, change your diet, and promptly treat bacterial and viral diseases. For persons with a family history, it is important to regularly conduct ultrasound diagnostics to monitor the gastrointestinal tract.

Inflammation of the gallbladder is one of the most common pathologies of the digestive organs in medicine. Symptoms of gallbladder inflammation vary and depend on the type of disease and other factors, so treatment for one form will differ from treatment for another form of cholecystitis.

Dissolving gallstones

Drug dissolution is used only if the patient is not overweight, the stones are small in size and contain a large amount of cholesterol. Cholesterol stones, no more than 2-3 years old, are easily dissolved with the help of medications.

In this case, products based on ursodeoxycholic acid (Ursofalk or Ursosan) are used. You will have to take them for at least 2-3 years in a row, but this only makes sense if the stones are small.

Classification of medications

Chronic cholecystitis requires long-term complex treatment, with the use of antibacterial drugs, antispasmodics and painkillers, choleretic agents, hepatoprotectors and sulfonamides, vitamins. Sometimes, it may be necessary to take antifungal and anthelmintic drugs.

Antibiotics

The main drugs against infection and inflammation are antibiotics. Before prescribing a specific drug, the doctor must conduct a bile test for sensitivity to a particular antibacterial drug.

Diet

People with chronic cholecystitis will have to adhere to a strict diet for life. They are shown dietary table No. 5, which implies frequent and small meals, and the basis of the diet should be cereals and vegetables.

Everything fatty, salty, spicy and smoked is completely excluded from the menu, and food is boiled or steamed. You will have to completely give up strong tea and coffee, pastries, sweets, and sausages. The main emphasis is on vegetables, fruits, cereals, and low-fat dairy products.