Just because it's a very rare disease doesn't mean you can't get it. Because there are many provocative moments that in general can create a problem. Many are interested in if the stomach is like a stone, what to do. What are the causes of this phenomenon and its symptoms?
Reasons
The main factor is a violation of motor functions that are responsible for the evacuation of food boluses from the stomach into the intestinal tract. A typical disease provocateur is complicated diabetes mellitus (diabetic gastroparesis, partial paralysis of the stomach). There are other equally important causes of stomach stones:
- Weakened secretion of the gastric glands, low acidity.
- Settlement of the intestinal tract and stomach by microorganisms that disrupt the microflora (yeast-like fungi).
- Increased viscosity of mucus.
All those who do not chew food well, abuse rough and fatty foods, those who have undergone stomach surgery (partial resection, vagotomy) and those who do not undergo a follow-up examination can get sick with this disease.
The stone can stay in the body for a long time without causing any unpleasant symptoms. As a result, a person for many years does not even know aboutof his illness. When the stone reaches a certain size, it can provoke an attack or cause discomfort. As a rule, discomfort is observed from a stone in the stomach after eating. Patients with this disease are prescribed a special diet.
Feelings
With stones, the patient constantly feels discomfort in the stomach area, it manifests itself as follows:
- Constant feeling of full stomach and vomiting after eating.
- Feelings of heaviness in the stomach, lasting more than two hours after eating.
- Temporary relief may come after vomiting or diarrhea, but then everything repeats with renewed vigor.
- The patient begins to feel weakness, fatigue, indifference, loss of appetite.
- More and more often I feel like I've swallowed something big.
- When the stone begins to pass through the gastrointestinal tract, a wild pain in the abdomen is added to the vomiting.
Symptoms
The symptoms of stones in the stomach do not appear immediately. But as the formation increases, they begin to damage the lining of the stomach with their sharp edges. The first signs of the disease include:
- involuntary exit of gases from the esophagus through the mouth as a result of diaphragmatic contraction - belching;
- emetic reflex during and after eating;
- heaviness in the stomach that occurs during meals and persists for more than two hours.
Small size stones can come out whenvomiting and diarrhea. This brings temporary relief. But if the patient continues to lead the same way of life, use the same products, does not protect himself from harmful factors at work, then new symptoms of the disease appear. The size of the stomach decreases, food is more difficult to digest. New signs of the disease appear, which include weight loss, indifference and fatigue, a decrease in hemoglobin in the blood, loss of working capacity. When the stone finds its way out of the stomach, it can block the passage to the intestines. This causes pain in the abdomen and vomiting.
The behavior of a stone depends on its size and structure. A small, even stone can leave the gastrointestinal tract on its own. Large and rough, it is able to completely block the small intestine, which in most cases requires surgical intervention.
Types of stones
There are several types of stones in the human body:
- Phytobezoar is the main type of stones. The main reason for their appearance is the accumulation of plant fiber as a result of eating foods rich in it (figs, persimmons, grapes, etc.). It develops as a result of poor digestion of food (gastritis, disruption of the digestive tract).
- Trichobezoar - formed due to the accumulation of hair, as a rule, in people who have a habit of sucking their hair and those whose work is directly related to hairstyles.
- Lactobesoar is a disease characteristic of premature infants on an artificial and high-calorie diet high in lactose andcasein.
- Sebobezoar - appears due to the formation of lumps of fat glued together with mucus.
- Hemobezoar - occurs in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus or portal hypertension when blood is swallowed.
- Pixobezoar - formed due to the use of resin.
- Shellacobezoar - occurs due to the ingestion of nitrolac, varnishes, alcohol varnishes and other harmful agents.
Patients after surgery on the stomach are most often prone to the appearance of stones. People with diabetes are also at risk of getting sick, as they already have serious he alth problems.
Diagnosis
If stones in the stomach are suspected, a full examination is necessary. Among the methods that will allow you to determine where the stone is located are endoscopy, ultrasound studies, x-ray diagnostics, MRI, computed tomography and ultrasound. The stomach also hurts with gallstones, so experts advise checking all organs.
Treatment
Only after listening to the patient's complaints, having carefully studied the symptoms and research results, the doctor can develop an individual treatment regimen. After the diagnosis has been clarified, most patients have a number of questions. How to remove a stone from the stomach? Should it be removed with surgery, or just conservative therapy?
Treatment is prescribed purely individually. It can be complex and include both surgery and drug therapy. The operation can be performed by laparotomy or pancreatectomy. Methods are relevant when attacks occur, accompanied by exhaustion of the body; inflammation develops; the body is depleted; there are vivid symptoms.
Operation
Surgical intervention is relevant in cases where there are complications or the formed stones are large. The operation is performed under general anesthesia, then the formation is removed through small incisions in the abdominal cavity.
Also, small stones are removed laparoscopically. The bezoar is removed by introducing a special apparatus into the abdominal cavity through small incisions. The intervention is performed under general anesthesia. The advantages of laparoscopic surgery for stomach stones are as follows:
- Fast recovery period.
- Total removal of bezoars.
- Prevention of dangerous complications.
- After the surgery, no scars remain.
- Internal organs are not damaged during the procedure.
It is also worth noting that, thanks to the modern development of medicine, the operation is carried out with the latest lasers, as a result of which no scars remain on the patient's skin after the manipulation. Contraindications to the use of this method of removing bezoars in the stomach:
- Inflammatory diseases of the gallbladder.
- Hemophilus infection.
- Atrophy.
- Presence of oncological formations.
- Tuberculosis in its active phase.
- Cirrhosis of the liver.
Prettyoften with stones in the stomach, patients resort to alternative medicine. No one disputes folk methods, however, you need to approach such treatment wisely and be sure to consult with a specialist first, take tests and undergo an examination.
Rosehip from stones in the digestive tract
You need to finely chop two tablespoons of dry rose hips, pour half a liter of boiling water into a thermos and leave overnight. In the morning, mix one tablespoon of decoction with two tablespoons of sorbitol and drink on an empty stomach. Drink the rest of the infusion after forty minutes, not forgetting to add one teaspoon of honey to it.
Potentilla
This herb is great for intestinal pain, stomach or liver ailments. Two tablespoons of dry crushed leaves pour 0.5 liters of boiled water. Drink one hundred milliliters three times a day. And in order to quickly get rid of stones in the body, you need to mix in a fifty-fifty proportion of an infusion of grass with the juice of a green shoot of rye. You can drink in any quantity.
Watermelon seeds during an attack of gallstone disease
Grind watermelon seeds in a mortar and pour cold water in the ratio of din to ten. Insist for six to eight hours, do not forget to shake occasionally. Or grind the seeds by adding water gradually (for one part of the seeds from five to ten parts of water). After twenty minutes, filter the solution.
Diet
If you feel heaviness in the stomach, likeas if swallowing a stone, the following recommendations must be strictly observed:
- Count calories, pay attention to the energy value of the foods you eat. The rate of calories is calculated purely individually, but on average this figure is about 2000-2500. It is also important to maintain a balance of proteins, carbohydrates and fats.
- Keep in mind that if there is a stone in the stomach or gallstones, fatty or fried foods can have the most detrimental effect.
- Don't overeat.
- Foods should not be hot or cold, eat everything warm.
- Eat small meals six times a day.
- It is necessary to remove fats from the diet, as well as various stimulants. These include: spices, additives, foods high in cholesterol and essential oils.
- The main thing in the diet is fruits and vegetables.
- No fried food.
- Food should be steamed, boiled and rarely baked.
You need to eat the following foods:
- Sour-milk (yogurt, kefir, fermented baked milk, cottage cheese, etc.), which contain calcium and protein, improve intestinal microflora.
- It is also necessary to introduce fish and lean meat, eggs (protein), vegetable oils, such as olive oil into the diet.
- Vitamins A, B and C needed.
Prevention
Proper nutrition is the main preventive measure that prevents the formation of stones in the stomach. In addition, doctors recommend the following:
- active lifestyle with a sufficient level of physicalloads;
- carefully and slowly chewing food;
- getting rid of the bad habit of biting nails, sucking hair;
- Reviewing the diet, limiting hard-skinned fruits and vegetables, berries, roughage, and pastries, white bread, which is best replaced with bran;
- periodic examination by a gastroenterologist.
You don't need to completely exclude meat products from your diet, but you don't need to get carried away with them either. You need to drink at least two liters of liquid every day (clean water, tea, rosehip decoction, etc.), so you prevent dehydration.
It is important to empty the bowels on time so that feces do not accumulate. It is useful to massage the tummy in the morning and drink warm boiled water. You can also sit down a couple of times. They do all this in order to form the habit of going to the toilet every time at the same time.
