RSS feedToday is the second day of the Chinese New Year, the year of the Ox. I was asked to see a case of abdominal pain in the Emergency Room. The patient developed upper abdominal pain about 4 hours after the traditional family re-union dinner on New Year’s Eve. The pain waxed and waned all night and was put down to indigestion from over-eating. Indigestion medication was tried but to no avail. Finally the pain was too persistent and intense and the patient attended the Emergency Room.
This reminded me of my days in England, where, on many Boxing Days, I was asked to see patients with upper abdominal pain. Invariably, the history would be the onset of upper abdominal pain a few hours after a sumptuous Christmas dinner. The pain would keep the patient up all night, was not significantly made better with antacids and finally the patient sought medical help in the Emergency Room.
In both cases, the patient was suffering from biliary colic or abdominal pain due to gallstones. The pain attack was brought on by the consumption of rich and oily food. (Roast turkey, sausages and cheese at Christmas dinner versus shark’s fin soup, multiple meat dishes, Chinese sausages and an assortment of cookies at Chinese New Year re-union dinner.) The gallbladder contains bile which is necessary for proper digestion of oily food. Thus, oily food stimulates the contraction of the gallbladder in order to deliver bile into the duodenum for the digestion of oily food. If you have gallstones in the gallbladder, contraction of the gallbladder against the stone(s) can give rise to pain. The rich food traditionally eaten at each festive occasion can and does precipitate an attack of pain from gallbladder contraction, called biliary colic.
Perhaps we should rename the colic episodes during these festive periods as ‘Festivity Colic’. To all Chinese readers, I wish you a Happy Chinese New Year.
no comments »