Learn more about biliary colic

From its name, many would assume that biliary colic has a great deal in common with other forms of colic, including the type suffered by many infants

. However, this is a unique medical condition, and although there are some similarities, biliary colic is distinct from other forms of colic.

What is it?

Biliary colic is severe pain in the upper abdomen, usually in the middle of the upper abdomen or on the right side of that region. It is often described as a constant, cramping pain that lasts anywhere from fifteen minutes to four or five hours. The pain of this type of colic can be accompanied by feelings of nausea. Once it has occurred in a patient, it is likely to happen over and over again until the gallstones are removed.

Who gets it?

Discomfort caused by biliary colic is the most common symptom experienced by people with gallstones. Some estimates say that as many as eighty percent of people with gallstones who have symptoms experience the pain of biliary colic. Gallstones form in the gallbladder when the liquid in this region hardens.

These gallstones then get stuck and cause a clock either in the gallbladder itself, which is a small sac located under the liver where bile is stored, or in the bile ducts, the tubes through which bile is trained from the liver into the small intestines and gallbladder.

People who are likely to get gallstones, and thus experience biliary colic, are generally:

- Over twenty years old

- Overweight

- Consume a diet high in fat, particularly cholesterol

Is it related to colic in infants?

Although they share a name, biliary colic is not related to the colic experienced by infants. In fact, the two share little other than a name.

Biliary colic is a symptom of a medical condition and once the gallstones have been removed, the pain of colic goes away. In contrast the cause of colic for infants is unknown, and there is not certain or single cure for it. While biliary colic will not go away until the gallstones are removed, infant colic passes on its own when the baby outgrows it.

Learn more about biliary colic

By: Andre Savoie

POST COMMENT

The Learners Most Excellent Recommendations In Understanding Along With Joining Some Multi-player Bo PRINCE2 2009 - Preparation for PRINCE 2 Examination The Learners Useful Directives When Understanding As Well As Participating Innumerable Peasurable Ga More And More Intellectuals Are Preferring To Study In Sweden Study In Denmark To Get Hold Of A Once In A Lifetime Experience How To Win The Lotto Guarantee - Learn How Experts Win Millions University Student Union And Benefits Of The Membership. Yale College Student Union: The Power Is In Partnership Postgraduate Study: 5 Points In Favor Of This Sagacious Step Distance Learning: Choose Your Own Way To Know More Distance Learning: Can It Be Equal To Full-time Study? Students Unions: Join One To Make Your College Life Complete The Learners Most Excellent Recommendations In Studying Along With Competing Countless Cooperative G