Gall Bladder Disease Symptoms

Beyond gall bladder cancer and gallstones, there are several gall bladder diseases that anyone can suffer from. Gall bladder diseases mainly affect women, though men can be affected by them as well. Gall bladder disease symptoms usually occur because of a swelling of or an infection in the organ, and can be extremely painful to experience.

Acute cholecystitis is an infection or inflammation of the organ, and causes pain and a fever that last for 12 hours or more. The pain is located on the right side of the body under the ribs and may feel like an intense soreness. The pain is made worse by coughing and moving around. People who develop acute cholecystitis usually also have gallstones, and must see a doctor immediately if these symptoms occur. Antibiotics are usually given to treat this condition, but if they are not effective, the gall bladder may have to be removed entirely.

Jaundice can also occur when there are gallstones present. The early symptoms include the same symptoms as occur with acute cholecystitis- pain in the same area and fever. After that, the eyes and skin will yellow and the skin will get itchy. Later stages include fever accompanied by shaking chills. At this stage, it must be treated by a doctor right away, as the infection is spreading.

A gall bladder attack is an excruciatingly painful episode when the gall bladder becomes inflamed. This can be because of a blockage caused by gallstones, or it can occur on its own with no stones present. The symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, and pain below the ribs on the right side. Many people think they are having appendicitis, and the symptoms are similar. Eating a very fatty or greasy meal can bring on a gall bladder attack. If the doctor is unsure that the symptoms are being caused by the gall bladder, he may prescribe a fatty meal be eaten to see if another attack occurs. Recurrent gall bladder attacks may need to be treated with the removal of the gall bladder.

More than 500,000 Americans have surgery to remove their gall bladders every year. One of the problems causing so much gall bladder disease is obesity. This is a known cause of gallstones as well as other gall bladder disease symptoms. By age 40, about 2.5 percent of people will have gallstones, and many more will have had other problems, such as gallbladder attacks. One way to prevent gall bladder problems is to eat a low fat diet and to get regular exercise.