We mentioned in a previous issue the symptoms associated with gallstones, and how they occur, and we mentioned that not all gallstones have the same composition, but there are three types:

Cholesterol stones: They consist of cholesterol that the bile is unable to dissolve. Based on statistics, 80 to 85 percent of gallstones in the United States and Europe are primarily cholesterol.

Hemoglobin stones: This type of stones is formed when the bilirubin level increases in bile. Cholesterol and hemoglobin stones that come out and get trapped in the bile ducts are known as secondary or impure duct stones. As for primary duct stones, they form inside the bile ducts. These stones are usually soft and brown in color, and composed of dissolved bile.

The gallstones usually settle at the bottom of the gallbladder and often cause little or no problems. Although some people attribute symptoms of heartburn, indigestion or bloating to gallstones, there is no evidence that cholecystopathy causes these symptoms.

In fact, the actual problems can only start when the stones move to the neck of the gallbladder or the outlet. When the gallbladder contracts to expel bile into the small intestine, the stones escape or try to escape, and small stones can usually pass through the bile ducts, to enter the small intestine and leave the body without problems, and large stones may remain stuck at the entrance to the bile duct, inside the bile duct or at Small intestine entrance.

When the stone blocks the flow of bile, it leads to moderate to severe pain accompanied by nausea, and this is known as a gallbladder attack. The seizure lasts from 15 minutes to several hours, and the stone stuck at the entrance to the bile duct usually falls back to the bottom of the gallbladder after the seizure ends. If the passage is not disturbed, the gallbladder may become infected and infected. Other symptoms include high fever, chills, dark urine, jaundice, and pale stools, which occur depending on where the stone is trapped.

This is in addition to the following cases:

* If the gallbladder remains blocked, you may get an infection and sometimes even burst, but the gallbladder ruptures is a rare condition that occurs only in about 1 percent of people with acute inflammation.

If a pebble gets stuck in the general bile stream, it blocks the flow of bile from the liver, and may lead to jaundice accompanied by high fever, chills and sepsis.

Stones that collect at the entrance to the small intestine can block the pancreatic duct, causing pancreatitis.

The cause of gallstones in some people and not others is still not clear. However, it appears that there are factors that increase the risk of infection:

To be a female. The incidence of gallstones in females is twice as high as in males. This may be due to estrogen, which causes the liver to excrete more cholesterol in the bile.

In addition, pregnancy, contraceptive pills and hormone replacement therapy also double the level of cholesterol in the bile, and reduce the ability of the gallbladder to empty bile completely. However, contraceptive pills or hormone replacement therapy should not be stopped for fear of developing gallstones without consulting a doctor. So that the benefits of the two drugs may outweigh the importance of the risk of stones.

Excess weight: Several studies have shown that the higher the weight, the greater the risk of developing gallstones. The risk of developing stones in obese people is three to seven times more than in people of normal weight. People who are overweight tend to have more cholesterol and a chemical imbalance in bile.

Age: The risk of developing stones increases with age. Statistics show that after the age of 70, 10 to 15 percent of men and 25 to 30 percent of women have gallstones. One reason is that, with age, the body tends to excrete more cholesterol in bile.

Family history: Cases of gallstones are often found in the same family, which indicates a possible genetic link. Two foreheads have been identified as causing gallstones in mice and are researched in the human body.

Race: Gallstones are more prevalent among American Indians, followed by Hispanics, and most American Indians develop gallstones later. People of Asian or African descent are less likely to develop gallstones.