Spleen diseases: symptoms and treatment, preventive measures

The spleen is an internal organ that plays an important role in human life. It is part of the lymphatic system and all the functions of the spleen, unfortunately, have not yet been fully understood. The spleen is known to be involved in hemolysis, producing monocytes and destroying damaged red blood cells. This organ acts as a natural filter in the body - it purifies the blood and serves as a reservoir for it. Also, the spleen performs an immunobiological function, participating in various metabolic processes. Therefore, if spleen diseases occur, you need to immediately start treatment.

Typical symptoms

The development of many diseases of the spleen can lead to a decrease or increase in its functional abilities. For example, when hyperplasia appears, its functions increase. The size of the internal organ increases, as a result of which the spleen extends slightly beyond the boundaries of the false ribs. There is a violation of such functions as filtration, hemolysis and hematopoiesis (the most important).

A decrease in the performance of the spleen with the development of a particular disease negatively affects the patient's body. In this case, a decrease in hemolysis and an increase in hematopoiesis can be noticed. The most dangerous symptom is an increase in the size of the organ. This is due to its anatomical features, due to which such fluctuations in volume occur. With an increase, the spleen can be hard and painless, which indicates the course of chronic diseases, or painful and mild, which indicates the development of an acute inflammatory process.

On a note! The process by which a significant and persistent enlargement of the spleen occurs is called splenomegaly in medicine. In rare cases, the organ can grow to such a size that it will occupy most of the abdominal cavity.

Depending on the root cause of the pathology, the clinical picture may vary. The appearance of painful sensations, as a rule, indicates inflammation of the capsule or its distension. Acute pain indicates the development of embolism (spleen infarction).

Common diseases of the spleen

According to statistics, most often spleen pathologies occur together with diseases of other internal organs, but there may be exceptions.

Table. Common diseases of the spleen.

Disease, photo	Description
Amyloidosis	A very common disease that, as a rule, is not accompanied by painful sensations. But patients may suffer from bouts of heartburn, nausea, a feeling of heaviness on the left side of the body, and problems with stool. Symptoms are not serious, but the disease is still not very pleasant. Therefore, when the first signs of amyloidosis appear, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Tumor	A person can develop 2 types of tumors: benign and malignant. In the first case, the patient's life is not threatened, but with the appearance of a malignant formation on the spleen, serious problems can arise. As a rule, the appearance of tumors is accompanied by increased sweating, fever, a feeling of heaviness in the left side, general weakness of the body, and enlarged lymph nodes.
Tuberculosis	Often people are faced with a disease such as spleen tuberculosis. It is not expressed in an obvious clinic, but with the development of the disease, the size of the spleen increases markedly.
Echinococcosis	Unlike other diseases of the spleen, echinococcosis is rather difficult to diagnose. This is due to the fact that the main symptoms of pathology are nausea, diarrhea or constipation, the manifestation of allergic reactions, pain.
Cyst	In most cases, such neoplasms appear on the spleen without any accompanying symptoms. The patient may not even guess that he has a cyst, but the pathology slowly develops over several decades.
Abscess	Often, doctors confuse an abscess with another disease of the spleen - a heart attack. The fact is that their symptoms are very similar, so if you notice low blood pressure, nausea and vomiting, acute pain in left abdomen and fever, you should immediately seek help from a doctor who will prescribe an x-ray study.
Spleen infarction	As noted earlier, a splenic infarction is very similar to an abscess, but if the area of ​​damage to an internal organ is insignificant, then the patient may not notice any tangible symptoms of the disease. Otherwise, if the patient has an extensive heart attack, the following symptoms may appear: Soreness in the left side of the abdomen; · Attacks of nausea and vomiting; · Increased body temperature; · Low blood pressure; · Rapid heart rate.
Inflammation	An extremely dangerous disease of the spleen, which often proceeds without any symptoms. If the pathological process spreads to other internal organs of the patient, then there may be heaviness in the right hypochondrium, bouts of vomiting, loss of appetite, increased body temperature. Also, the patient may suffer from pain.

Sometimes people may encounter such a phenomenon as congenital problems with the development of the spleen. Such defects, as a rule, are not accompanied by characteristic symptoms, but in rare cases, the patient may experience pain.

Diagnostic features

Treatment of spleen pathologies can only be started after the doctor has made a diagnosis. To do this, you need to conduct several diagnostic studies:

• CT scan;
• a blood test for leukocytes, erythrocytes and platelets. With the help of a general analysis, it is possible to determine changes in the composition of the patient's blood;
• biochemical analysis;
• biopsy histology;
• x-ray;
• palpation;
• ultrasound procedure;
• visual examination of the patient (obtaining information about the presence of symptoms of pathology, general feelings of the patient);
• collection of anamnesis, etc.

Based on the results obtained, the doctor will be able to make an accurate diagnosis. The sooner the cause is identified, the better the chances of a quick recovery.

Treatment methods

With the development of a particular disease of the spleen, the doctor prescribes a comprehensive treatment. This is the most efficient way. Any of the above diseases is quite serious, therefore, self-medication is highly discouraged, even in the early stages of the development of the disease. Only the attending physician is able to determine the disease and prescribe the appropriate method of therapy, which will avoid dangerous complications.

Depending on the type of disease and the reasons for its development, the prescription of drugs is individual. As a rule, pharmacy drugs or folk remedies are used for this, but in extreme cases, a surgical operation can be performed.

Medication

After identifying the pathology, the gastroenterologist prescribes a course of therapy. Often in such cases, the following groups of medicines are prescribed:

• anti-tuberculosis;
• enzymes;
• antineoplastic;
• vitamin complexes;
• antibacterial agents;
• pain relievers;
• antihistamines and anti-inflammatory drugs.

On a note! If taking medications does not give the desired result, the doctor is forced to prescribe a surgical operation in which the spleen is removed. This is a common procedure, after which there are no serious consequences.

Folk remedies

Many diseases of the spleen can pose a great danger to the patient's body without appropriate treatment, therefore, before using folk remedies, you must definitely consult with by the attending physician. Often, traditional medicine recipes are used only as an adjunct to traditional treatments.

Traditional healers use the following remedies in the treatment of diseases of the spleen:

• celandine;
• St. John's wort;
• pharmaceutical camomile;
• nettle;
• violet;
• succession;
• hop cones;
• bee honey and so on.

This is just a small part of the natural ingredients used in traditional medicine recipes.

Prevention measures

In order not to face diseases of the spleen, you need to constantly monitor your health. With the development of infectious diseases, try to carry out timely treatment. You also need to strengthen the immune system. To do this, experts recommend adhering to proper nutrition (giving up junk food), quitting smoking and drinking alcohol. It's no secret that alcohol negatively affects the functioning of all body systems, as well as smoking.

Important! When engaging in active sports, you need to protect the chest and abdomen from severe damage. Most often, spleen injury occurs during various blows / bruises in a fight, as well as as a result of a car accident. In this case, the spleen may rupture, resulting in profuse bleeding.

Doctors recommend that you periodically donate blood for tests to check the level of platelets, white blood cells and red blood cells.

Video - Definition of a diseased spleen