gallstones

Question 1

symptoms

Answer 1

gallstones don't usually have symptoms but if gallstones block one of the bile ducts. it can cause sudden, severe abdominal pain. other symptoms may occur if blockage is severe:
high temperature
abdominal pain
rapid heart beat
itchy skin
diarrhoea
confusion
loss of appetite
chills or shivering attacks

Question 2

prevention

Answer 2

changes to your diet and losing weight may help preventing gallstones

diet- avoiding eating high saturated fat content e.g. meat pies, cream, sausages, hard cheese, butter, cakes and biscuits

losing weight- taking regular exercise, healthy diet

Question 3

treatment

Answer 3

treatment depends on how the symptoms are affecting your lifestyle you may need treatment if you have a condition that increases your risk of developing complications e.g. scarring of the liver, high blood pressure inside liver- portal of hypertension

• keyhole surgery
• open surgery
• medications
• diet and gallstones

Question 4

how to live with it

Answer 4

try to remain a healthy life style

• lose weight
• stay active

Question 5

causes

Answer 5

cause is unsure b ut is thought toi be an unbalance of chemical make up of bile inside the gallbladder. unclear what causes this.

usually form if there is high levels of

• cholesterol inside the gallbladder
• a waste product called bilirubin inside the gallbladder

Question 6

diagnostic techniques

Answer 6

may be discovered during tests for other conditions, as they don’t have any symptoms

• ultra sound testing
• MRI scan
• cholangiography
• CT scan