Ox Gallstones Mexico

MONDAY’S report about an abattoir employee being charged for the theft of gallstones has aroused a lot of interest. Many people have argued that processors must be making a fortune from these valuable cattle by-products, at the expense of beef producers.

There are many factors that influence the prevalence of gallstones. The gender of the person is a strong factor, with women being much more likely than men to develop cholelithiasis.

What are Gallstones?

Gallstones are hard lumps of material that form in your gallbladder, a small organ under your liver. The gallbladder stores and releases bile, the digestive fluid your body makes to help digest food. It also carries waste products like cholesterol and bilirubin that your body produces when you break down red blood cells.

When your gallbladder doesn’t work properly, bile can block the tube (duct) it drains from the gallbladder into your small intestine. This can cause pain in the upper right part of your abdomen, known as biliary colic. The pain will go away if the stone passes through the duct into your small intestine.

About 80% of gallstones form when bile is concentrated and forms hard, stone-like particles. Most of the stones that form in the gallbladder are cholesterol stones, which are light yellow-green in color.

Occasionally, other substances in the bile, such as protein, can also clump together to form cholesterol stones. This can happen when the movement of the gallbladder isn’t normal, or when proteins in the bile block the flow of bile into the duct.

Cholesterol gallstones can be caused by a few risk factors, including having an unhealthy diet or eating too much fat. They can also be caused by taking certain medications, such as those that contain estrogen or oral contraceptives.

In most people, gallstones don’t cause any problems. If they do, however, they can cause severe pain in the right upper abdomen that can last for a long time.

Your doctor can diagnose gallstones by performing a physical exam and asking you questions about your health and family history. They can also order tests to check for gallstones, such as an ultrasound or CT scan.

If the test shows you have gallstones, your doctor may recommend a procedure called percutaneous drainage of your gallbladder. This involves placing a needle into your gallbladder and having it aspirate (draw out) some of the bile that’s trapped there.

Another common treatment is surgery to remove your gallbladder, a procedure called cholecystectomy. This is a safe, effective procedure that can cure most gallstones in most people, but it can also lead to problems if the stones come back.

How do Gallstones form?

Gallstones form when bile, a digestive fluid made in your liver, hardens into stone-like material. The bile contains cholesterol, salts, and other substances that help digest fats in the body. It also carries wastes such as bilirubin, which your body makes when it breaks down red blood cells.

The gallbladder stores and concentrates bile until the body needs it. After the bile leaves the gallbladder, it travels through tubes called ducts that connect to your liver and intestines. The bile ducts carry bile to the small intestine, where it helps you break down food and absorb nutrients.

When you eat fatty foods, your liver produces bile and stores it in the gallbladder. Then, the gallbladder contracts to squeeze the bile out into the ducts.

If a lot of bile is collected in the gallbladder, it can cause stones to form. Typically, gallstones form when bile has too much cholesterol, bilirubin or salts.

Pigment gallstones, the most common type of gallstone, are dark brown or black and often contain bilirubin. They may also have other components.

Another type of gallstone, called a cholesterol stone, usually appears yellowish or greenish in color and is composed mainly of undissolved cholesterol. These stones can be very large or many small pieces.

Most people do not have any symptoms of gallstones, but they can obstruct a tube that carries bile (bile ducts). This can cause pain and inflammation that requires treatment.

The risk of gallstones increases with age. Women are twice as likely to develop the condition than men. Some factors that can increase your chances of getting gallstones include obesity, smoking and eating a diet high in saturated fats, fried foods, refined sugar, caffeine and alcohol.

In addition, some conditions that affect your bile or the way your gallbladder empty can also lead to gallstone formation. These conditions are more common in older adults.

A person’s body produces too much bilirubin when they have liver problems or other diseases. Other conditions that can cause too much bilirubin include liver cirrhosis, certain types of blood disorders and bile duct infections.

What are the symptoms of Gallstones?

Gallstones form in the gallbladder, a small pear-shaped organ that stores and concentrates the fluid that helps your body digest fats and absorb certain vitamins. It is located on the right side of your abdomen, just beneath your liver.

The gallbladder produces a substance called bile, which is used to break down fats and emulsify (break down into smaller parts) important fat-soluble nutrients like vitamin A, D, E, and K. The bile is then sent down a tube to the small intestine, where it carries nutrient-rich fats into the bloodstream.

But sometimes the bile can get too thick, or the bile can clog up the opening to the gallbladder or the ducts that carry the gallbladder’s bile into the intestine. This can cause a blockage of bile or a blockage in the gallbladder itself, which is a medical emergency.

A common symptom of a blockage in the gallbladder is sudden, severe pain that usually starts in the upper left corner of your abdomen and moves to the middle or right of your abdomen. This pain lasts for a few hours and can wake you up at night.

This type of pain is caused when a stone in the gallbladder blocks one of your bile ducts. This can lead to other health problems if the blocked bile duct leads to an infected area, such as your pancreas. It can also cause fever, chills, and yellowing of your skin and eyes.

Another common symptom of a blocked bile duct is pus in your stools. Pus can be a sign of an infection, called cholecystitis, in which the gallbladder becomes inflamed and the pus clogs your bile duct. The pus can then enter your intestines and make you sick.

If the infection is mild, a doctor can treat it with antibiotics and painkillers to help ease symptoms. However, if the infection is severe, surgery to remove the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) may be needed.

A more serious complication of gallstones is inflammation of the gallbladder, called cholecystitis. This happens in 2% to 3% of people who have a blockage in the gallbladder. Inflammation can spread to other parts of your body and create a dangerous condition called sepsis, which can lead to organ failure.

What are the treatments for Gallstones?

Gallstones can be treated in a number of ways. The most common way is surgery to remove the gallbladder. This is called cholecystectomy and more than 500,000 Americans have it done every year.

Medications to help dissolve stones can also be used, such as ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). Ursodeoxycholic acid is a type of bile acid that works to break down cholesterol in your bile and prevents it from hardening into gallstones.

Some people may be able to take this medication without any problems, but it can take up to two years for the medicine to work. Taking it can help relieve symptoms of gallstones in some people, but it can also cause side effects like stomach pain and diarrhea.

Another treatment option is to inject a chemical, such as methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), into your gallbladder to break up stones. This is an unusual treatment that usually works very well and can help to alleviate the symptoms of gallstones.

Your doctor can find out if you have gallstones by doing an ultrasound exam or CT scan. Ultrasound is the most accurate method of detecting gallstones, because it bounces safe, painless sound waves off your organs to produce images on a screen. Your doctor will be able to see the stones in these images, as well as the ducts that carry bile from your liver to your small intestine.

An X-ray of your bile ducts can also be taken. This test is known as ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography).

In most cases, gallstones don’t need to be removed. However, if your gallstones are causing symptoms or your gallbladder is enlarged and inflamed, surgery will be necessary.

During this procedure, your doctor runs a long flexible lighted tube through your mouth and into your bile ducts. The X-ray lets your provider see the ducts and take out any small stones.

If the ducts are blocked, a specialized procedure called extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy can be used to break up a stone. ESWL can be very effective at breaking up and removing a gallstone, but it often requires several treatments.

Ox Gallstones Mexico