Aug 30 2010
How Concerned Should I Be About Pain In The Liver?
Not everyone who’s suffering from pain near the liver experiences exactly the same kind of discomfort. Some say their pain is extreme - it feels like like their liver is going to burst. Some patients even have pain in the right shoulder, and discomfort when they inhale or cough. Patients with pain near the liver sometimes mention a swollen or bloated feeling in the abdominal area.
Liver Pains can result from a problem involving the liver itself, but pain near the liver can also be connected to a problem with another part of the body, particularly the gallbladder, blood vessels, or the biliary tract. When the pain is being caused by the liver itself, it frequently means the liver has become inflamed due to any number of causes.
Cirrhosis, fatty liver disease, liver cancer, liver failure and hepatitis are several of the best known problems that can affect your liver. There are, in fact, many different kinds of liver diseases that can trigger liver pain.
If the pain comes from somewhere besides the liver, it may be due to condition of the biliary tract, like a stone. Doctors refer to this type of problem as biliary colic. It generally comes on suddenly, causes several hours of discomfort, then subsides. Discomfort begins in the upper middle quadrant or the right upper quadrant, and may radiate to the area between the shoulder blades or to the shoulder itself.
Biliary colic generally happens because you’ve eaten a large, cholesterol-rich meal and your gallbladder is having trouble processing all the fat. A number of other conditions can create pain near the liver. These include a liver abscess, liver cysts, and cholangitis or inflammation of the biliary duct. Poor gallbladder health can also cause what feels like pain near the liver.
Several medications are available that will help relieve pain near the liver. They include:
* Drugs known as NSAIDs or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which reduce pain and inflammation. Some NSAIDs require a doctor’s prescription, but other forms are available over the counter.
* Demerol, which is also called Meperidine.
* Morphine
Whenever you begin to feel pain, aching or soreness in an area around your liver, you should probably talk to your doctor. Such discomfort could be the result of liver of gallbladder problems. These can be serious threats to your long term health and deserve the attention of a medical professional.
Would you like more information on liver pain? Click on the human liver.
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