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Pain in the right hypochondrium

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Pain in the right hypochondrium is a typical symptom of violations of organs such as the liver, gall bladder, intestine, diaphragm. With the corresponding pathologies of these organs, there is pain, burning and heaviness in the right side of the abdominal cavity just below the ribs on the right.

pain in the right hypochondrium

Depending on the nature of pain, you can determine which body requires a medical examination. In particular, hepatic pathologies, as well as irregularities in the work of the biliary tract can cause dull and prolonged pain. Usually, it occurs as a consequence of chronic cirrhosis, hepatitis, or portal hypertension. Acute pain, which is manifested by sudden attacks of colic, speaks of the presence of stones in the kidneys and the "blockage" of the liver and bile ducts. Violations can be triggered by an improper diet with excessive consumption of fatty foods. In both cases, discomfort and unpleasant pain can "flow" from the hypochondrium into the right shoulder or the scapular region.

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Why does it hurt in the right hypochondrium?

One of the causes of pain in the right hypochondrium is viral and infectious diseases, such as viral hepatitis A, B or C. Hepatitis A virus "attacks" the liver, getting into the food tract along with infected food or water. Hepatitis B

Often people with non-traditional orientation, drug addicts and those who had physical contact with them often suffer. Hepatitis C can easily be picked up through a virus infected with the virus, which can enter the body, for example, through an unsterile medical needle. There is also toxic hepatitis, which occurs due to intoxication of the body with drugs, medications or chemicals. The most common and most dangerous poison for the liver is alcohol. It promotes the development of alcoholic hepatitis.

The liver's health is also affected by the poor performance of the heart, which is not able to fully pump the blood through the body. This chereza stagnation of blood in the organs, in the liver in particular. In this case, the liver increases in size, causing pain in the right hypochondrium. Among other diseases that can cause hepatic pathologies and, accordingly, pain in the right side under the ribs, diseases such as adenoma, hepatic insufficiency, epithelioid hemangiendothelioma, secondary biliary cirrhosis, large droplet fatty liver, posttransplantation liver rejection, liver abscess, echinococcosis and others.

The pathology of the gallbladder is another cause of pain in the right hypochondrium. Gourmets should reflect on the reduction in their diet of fatty foods, because the splitting and assimilation of fat requires more bile than with the use of low-fat food. Therefore, the excess of bile leads to the appearance of gallstones and excessive load on the liver, which in turn also becomes a source of pain in the chest area on the right side and in the right upper abdomen.

In the abdominal cavity is another vital organ - the pancreas, - dysfunction or inflammation ( pancreatitis ) which can lead to pain and even diabetes mellitus. The cause of pancreatitis can also be excessive consumption of fatty, alcoholic, acid-containing products (eg, vinegar). The pancreatic disease proceeds quite painfully and is accompanied by a number of accompanying symptoms such as chills, nausea with vomiting, severe sweating, swelling of the legs, pain in the right hypochondrium and right side. During attacks it is not recommended to take a prone position. Pancreatitis is confirmed laboratory.

Pain in the right hypochondrium can also be caused by a violation of the right kidney. In diseases of the kidneys, there are usually internal suppuration, decomposition of the tissues of the body and stones, resulting in unpleasant sensations can smoothly flow into the chest or back.

In addition, severe pain in the right upper quadrant may be troubling due to other destructive diseases of the internal organs located in the right side under the ribs: inflammation of the appendix or lungs, gallbladder cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, chemical intoxication, duodenal ulcers.

To what doctor to address if the right hypochondrium hurts?

The treatment of such diseases must be taken seriously enough, therefore, as soon as the pain in the right hypochondrium starts uninterruptedly or paroxysmally torment for 2-3 days, it is necessary to consult a gastroenterologist or infectious disease specialist.

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