Gallbladder Problems in Women

The gallbladder is a sac like organ related to the digestive system in the body and stores the bile juice produced by the liver. It is about 8 cm in length and 4 cm in diameter, located below the liver and connected to the pancreas through the common bile duct. Divided into 3 sections viz; fundus, body and the neck, the gallbladder is a crucial organ that helps in the digestion of foods, but its loss can be tolerated by the body. The main function of this organ in the body is to store the bile produced in the liver, and it can store about 50 milliliters of it. Like all the other organs, the gallbladder is also prone to certain diseases, which are known to be prominent in women even though men too, suffer from them. There are many gallbladder problems in women, that can be treated but should not be ignored, as they can be serious otherwise. Find out what are these gallbladder diseases from the paragraphs mentioned below, just for your information.

Cholecystitis
Cholecystitis is the most commonly found of the gallbladder diseases and is recognized as "inflammation of the gallbladder". Also called the gallbladder attack, there are many causes to this inflammation. These causes are often other gallbladder diseases such as gallstones or cholelithiasis which will be discussed in the further paragraphs. When these gallstones are formed, they block the cystic duct, which is a duct that connects the gallbladder to the common bile duct. Due to this there is thickening of the bile and infections caused by the gut organisms (E.coli), and this in turn leads to inflammation of the gallbladder. Cholecystitis is a very painful condition, and the extreme pain in the abdomen area can be one of the symptoms of the gallbladder problems in women.

Gallstones (Cholelithiasis)
The condition of Cholelithiasis is when there are crystalline concentrations called gallstones found in the gallbladder. Gallstones differ in size and structure depending on the area where they are found. They are formed because of the retention of the bile liquid in the gallbladder and further lead to secondary infections in the organ because of microbes of the tract. When gallstones are found in the biliary tract, it is called the choledocholithiasis, and these can lead to inflammation or Cholecystitis. The compositions of gallstones also depend on the age and diet of the patient, thus there are 3 main categories of these stones. They are cholesterol stones, pigment stones and mixed stones where each of them have varying compositions. Treatment of gallbladder problems in women is usually medication and home remedies.

Sclerosing cholangitis
Another one of these gallbladder problems in women is known as Sclerosing cholangitis, which is a condition where the bile ducts inside as well as outside the liver are damaged severely. There is either swelling, destruction or scarring of these ducts that are observed. The causes of gallbladder problems such as this bruising is not known, but these abnormalities are usually seen in women who are patients of Sarcoidosis, Chronic pancreatitis and bowel diseases. This condition is however more often observed in men than women but there are risks to women who are over 50 years of age.

There are many other minute and interconnected gallbladder problems in women such as;

• Abnormal growths of tissue in the gallbladder, also called the polyps.
• Chronic acalculous gallbladder disease, where there is cholecystitis without gallstones.
• Tumors or cancers of the gallbladder as well as bile ducts.
• Gangrene/abscesses and infections in the bile ducts are also very common diseases.

With this informative list of the gallbladder problems in women, you can now be aware of what could be the serious gallbladder conditions. Thus, if you are suffering from any of these diseases, please do not ignore them and sought to treatments as soon as possible.