Causes of Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is a disease of the pancreas, a gland situated behind the stomach, in its upper part. It usually appears when the enzymes produced by the pancreas activate too soon, before they reach the duodenum. This causes the inflammation of the pancreas. Even if there are multiple causes of pancreatitis, sometimes the doctors cannot say from it started.

Two main types of pancreatitis can be identified: the acute and the chronic pancreatitis. The first type, the acute pancreatitis is a short-term disease. Its symptoms begin to be felt when the enzymes start damaging the pancreas. In a normal case, if the cause of pancreatitis were eliminated, the attacks happen only once or twice, after which the pancreas starts healing.

If the attacks continue and they are getting more severe we can talk about chronic pancreatitis. It starts as an acute form, but because the pancreas is too damage it cannot return to its normal, healthy state. In time the condition of the pancreas gets worse and the pains are stronger.

The causes of pancreatitis can vary according the patient’s lifestyle. The most frequent cause of pancreatitis is thought to be the regular alcohol drinking. It is not known for certain how the alcohol affects the pancreas but it is a certainty that it can be blamed for most of the pancreatitis.

Another cause of pancreatitis is the gallstone. The gallstones block the pancreatic duct maintaining in this way the digestive juices inside the pancreas. If kept too long the enzymes activate damaging the tissue. Pancreatitis caused by gallstones tends to occur often women older than 50 years.

The alcohol drinking and the gallstones are responsible for 80% of the inflammation of the pancreas. However the doctors have found out that there are many other causes of pancreatitis, such as injuries, medications or exposure to certain chemicals or excessive body fat. Mumps and abnormalities of the pancreas can also be regarded as causes of pancreatitis...

In most pancreatitis treatments, usually, Doctor begins by relieving pain and taking action to solve food problems and metabolic disorders. The patient is expected to reduce the loss of fat and protein in the stool by decreasing the amount of fat in your diet and taking pills containing pancreatic enzymes. Sometimes, insulin or medications should be administered to balance the patient's blood sugar.
In gallstones pancreatitis cases, an operation to empty a dilated pancreatic duct is required... Sometimes the pancreas is removed in whole or in part in an attempt to relieve chronic pain.

Patients should stop taking alcohol; comply with the diet that was prescribed and taking the appropriate medication to reduce the number of crises’ severities.