Does Smoking Make Gallbladder Symptoms Worse? Smoking can make your gallbladder symptoms worse because it increases the chance of developing an infection, which is why smokers are more likely to need surgery for their gallstones. It also makes it harder for bile to flow freely through your body and may cause inflammation in the liver. If you’re having trouble with your gallbladder, quitting smoking can help reduce these symptoms.
Here’s what smoking does to your gallbladder:
1. CAUSES GALLSTONES TO FORM
Nicotine can cause the formation of gallstones in various ways:
- Nicotine is thought to stimulate the secretion of bile acids by the liver, increasing cholesterol concentration in bile, making it more likely for stones to form.
- It may also directly damage the hepatocyte cells that produce bile, thereby reducing your body’s ability to break down cholesterol into usable components.
- Smoking is linked with obesity due to nicotine’s effects on appetite and metabolism, risk factors for developing gallstones.
2. INCREASES RISK OF HAVING A BLOCKED BILE DUCT
Smoking has been found in several studies to contribute to complete obstruction or narrowing of the common bile duct (CBD), which in turn can lead to gallbladder inflammation (cholecystitis), cysts, and even cancer. Blockage of the CBD is usually caused by stones that form when bile becomes concentrated than it should due to reduced secretion of bile or increased re-absorption back into the bloodstream. As nicotine stimulates gallbladder contractions, it may also help push these stones towards the duct that leads directly to your intestines, thereby blocking it.
3. CAUSES ENLARGEMENT OF THE GALLBLADDER
According to researchers, chronic smokers are likely at risk for developing irreversible scarring in their liver tissues, known as cirrhosis. As this happens, the liver’s ability to break down bilirubin (a chemical substance that causes jaundice) is impaired, which in turn causes increased concentration of this substance in the gallbladder. This is a condition known as Gilbert’s syndrome and can lead to gallbladder disease over time.
4. SLOWS RECOVERY FROM GALLBLADDER ATTACKS
A person who has just undergone a cholecystectomy (surgical removal of the gallbladder) is likely to recover better and faster if they stop smoking. This is because nicotine may increase bile duct pressure back into your system, slow down your intestines’ ability to absorb nutrients that will help you heal, and stimulate the formation of blood clots within the livers’ veins which can further obstruct blood flow leading to liver failure.
5. INCREASES DIFFICULTY IN GETTING RID OF GALLSTONES NATURALLY
Smoking affects how medications work on an individual’s body, making it harder for those who wish to get rid of gallstones through natural methods such as exercise and diet. Caffeine and alcohol, known as diuretics (substances that help eliminate fluids from the body), usually make your body pass more urine, thereby reducing the concentration of minerals such as calcium found in bile. However, smoking may impair your kidneys’ ability to absorb these compounds leading to reduced formation of stones.
6. INHIBITS GALLBLADDER CONTRACTIONS
Smoking affects an individual’s heart rate and blood pressure making it harder for the heart to pump blood throughout the body at optimal rates. This also happens with your gallbladder, which becomes less capable of contracting properly, thus causing it to retain stones that can block the bile ducts leading to inflammation and infection over time.
In conclusion, it is important to understand the effect smoking has on your gallbladder because it can lead to complications if you don’t.
sources links:
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/smoking-and-the-digestive-system
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/44851781
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4977331/
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299543863_Effect_of_Nicotine_on_Gallbladder_Bile
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