Pain in the right hypochondrium. What can cause it?

Diseases that affect the organs of the abdominal cavity or retroperitoneal space are often accompanied by a variety of unpleasant sensations. Localization of them depends on the location of the affected organ. If you are concerned about pain in the right hypochondrium, extending into the right shoulder or the supraclavicular area to the right, look for its causes, primarily in the liver.

Because of what it arises? First, the increase in liver size in various pathological processes, for example, in hepatitis, stretches its fibrous membrane. This causes pain and discomfort. Diseases of the liver can occur with nausea and vomiting, deterioration in overall health, the appearance of yellow skin coloration and sclera, dark urine. Dull pain in the right hypochondrium occurs with hepatitis of various origins, with an increase in the liver accompanying cardiac pathology, or with cirrhosis.

The second source of trouble is the biliary system of the liver. It includes the gallbladder and liver ducts, through which bile is removed from it. Pathological processes in them are accompanied by various in intensity unpleasant symptoms. Often the causes of pain in the right upper quadrant are associated with dyskinesia (a violation of the tone) of the bile ducts or their inflammation (cholecystitis, cholangitis).

Stones in the bile duct and gall bladder often lead to an acute attack of the so-called hepatic colic. The pain during it is acute, stitching and can be very intense. Call her stones on the way out of the bile, leading to the fact that the bile ducts are higher than them and the gall bladder stretches. Cholangitis, cholecystitis, cholelithiasis usually cause acute pain in the right upper quadrant. In a number of cases, it spreads throughout the abdomen, may be permanent or cramping.

Provoke an attack of hepatic colic can fatty and spicy food, alcoholic drinks and spices, riding on a jolting road, physical activity.

There are painful symptoms in the right hypochondrium and extrahepatic origin. The reason for them can be appendicitis with a high appendix, duodenal ulcer, pancreas head disease. Sometimes they occur with stones of the right kidney or lesions of the angle of the colon.

With ulcer of the duodenum and diseases of the head of the pancreas, pain in the right upper quadrant gives into the back. In renal origin, it will spread into the inguinal area on the right, in men - into the testicles.

With appendicitis, pain can be of different intensity, but more often it is moderate, constant. It is often accompanied by deterioration of the condition with a rise in temperature to high figures, nausea and vomiting. In this disease, an important diagnostic symptom is the symptom of Shchetkin-Blumberg. It consists in the following: if the pressure on the abdominal wall quickly remove the hand, with a positive response, the abdominal pain increases sharply.

In all cases, when there is a sharp pain in the right hypochondrium and other symptoms of an acute illness, urgent medical treatment is needed. The doctor at the examination will determine what is the source of the pain and will prescribe the necessary laboratory and other studies. If necessary, he will refer the patient to a surgeon or other narrow specialist. If you do not seek medical help on time, serious complications are possible, sometimes even threatening the patient's life. With minor pain of blunt character or short-term tingling in the right upper quadrant, you can be examined on an outpatient basis, but you still need to see a doctor.

Carefully watch your health! All the best!