Gallbladder Sludge – An Overview

Gall Bladder, a small organ inside our body but none the less is equally important as it has a unique function to perform just like every other organ. Gall bladder is responsible for acting as a reservoir for the bile, collecting it, concentrating it and emptying it into the bile duct. The bile duct further takes it to the small intestine for digestion.
The sludge in the gallbladder is known as biliary sludge and is also considered as microscopic form of gallstones. This sludge is generally made up of cholestrol and other particles as well as calcium and sodium crystals.

Gallbladder Sludge

People suffering from this conditions have symptoms like bloating, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, indigestion, sweating to name a few. Initially the symptoms are mild but with time they start getting worse. Eventually, it could lead to gall bladder stones as well.

Risk Factors / Causes
The triggers of gall bladder sludge include fasting, certain medications, drug abuse, diet high in cholestrol, pregnancy and alcohol addictions. Even attempting a crash diet to go slim can result into gall bladder sludge as with little or no food intake the bile excretion decreases thus retaining the minimal bile in the bladder leading to sludge.

Diagnosis
Symptoms as mentioned before include severe abdominal pain in the upper right side of the body.

Treatment
If gall bladder sludge is diagnosed, doctors do suggest ursodoil, to help break down the protiens if any in the bile. Drinking a lot of water helps in removal of sludge naturally. But, if that does not work then the gall bladder stone needs to be removed from the body.

Prevention
Drinking plenty of water, intake flax seed oil, vitamin C and avoid food with high cholestrol contents.

Well, gall bladder stones can be removed easily with minimally invasive surgeries but its important to seek doctors advice if your symptoms match the above.

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