Spleen Pain Symptoms

One of the important organs that is a part of the immune system is the spleen. This is an organ that has many functions, like destruction of old and worn out red blood cells and production of red and white blood cells. As it is so actively involved with fighting infections, there are high chances of a person landing with spleen problems, which could lead to a lot of pain and discomfort. There are various spleen pain causes. These include sepsis, systemic infection, splenomegaly, ruptured spleen, etc. Hence, one needs to identify the various symptoms so as to be able to reach a diagnosis related to the spleen pain, with the help of certain tests as well.

Symptoms of Pain in Spleen

• Although, as mentioned earlier, spleen pain in itself is a symptom, there can be many symptoms that could accompany it. These include pain that may initially be restricted to the upper left region of the abdomen and then spread to other parts of the abdomen, in a radiating manner.
• If there is splenomegaly and hepatomegaly, that is, enlarged spleen and liver, then the person may feel full after eating a very small amount of food or may experience spleen pain after eating. This usually happens because the enlarged liver and spleen tend to press on the stomach, due to which the appetite of a person gets significantly reduced.
• Another symptom is that once the pain becomes radiating in nature, it may be seen that a person becomes highly susceptible to contracting infectious diseases. This is because although a person can survive without spleen, this is an important organ that is part of the immune system. Hence, such a person has higher chances of contracting infections and so, needs to be extra careful and ensure that he takes adequate precautions so as to prevent the chances of infection. Thus, he will need to regularly get himself vaccinated or needs to be under antibiotic cover.
• Sometimes, spleen pain symptoms may also be accompanied by abdominal pain and chest pain. The chest pain especially mimics pleuritic pain which is seen when the stomach, bladder or bowels are full. This is mostly seen as one of the enlarged spleen symptoms. The area around the upper left part of the body may also be very tender on touch or may be slightly swollen as well.
• Back pain only sometimes is seen to accompany symptoms of spleen pain. Back pain or swelling on the left side of the middle region of the back can occur due to a ruptured spleen.
• The chest pain, when accompanied by a slight amount of shoulder pain could be indicative of being one of the symptoms of spleen pain. There may be stress on lungs during breathing and the movement of the ribs and lungs may eventually cause pain due to tenderness in the region of the spleen.
• Another possible symptom that may be seen is low blood pressure. Since one of the functions of spleen is to help produce red and white blood cells, when there is an infection of the spleen or if there is rupturing of the spleen. Large quantities of blood may spill into the abdominal cavity. This can lead to severe pain and is one of the emergency conditions that one needs to deal with. This can lead to dangerous fluctuations in the blood pressure along with the spleen pain.

Spleen pain during pregnancy is especially indicative of a severe infection which may end up being life-threatening for the mother and child. Hence, this is a serious symptom which needs to be investigated on a priority basis so as to prevent the chances of any further complications.