Enlarged Spleen – Causes And Remedies
The spleen performs a number of important body functions. It destroys and filters the worn out blood cells. It produces white blood cells necessary for preventing infections. It stores blood and platelets. If for some reason the spleen becomes enlarged, the normal functions of the spleen are impaired. Several factors can cause enlarged spleen. Enlarged spleen or spelnomegaly could occur from liver diseases, infections and cancers. Treating the underlying condition responsible for increasing the size of the spleen could help to cure this health disorder.
Enlarged spleen causes
Viral, bacterial and parasitic infections are often responsible for this condition. Infections that are usually associated with enlarged spleen are malaria, endocarditis or infection of the inner lining of the heart, syphilis and mononucleosis. Liver diseases such as cirrhosis could cause spleen disorder. Hemolytic anemia is one of the major causes of enlarged spleen. Development of blood clot or rise in pressure in the veins of the spleen or the liver can be responsible for enlarged spleen. Enlarged spleen can also be the symptom of leukemia, Hodgkin’s diseases, Neimann-Pick disease and Gaucher’s disease.
Enlarged spleen symptoms
Common symptoms of enlarged spleen include abdominal pain. The pain tends to spread from the upper left part of the abdomen to the left shoulder. Always feeling full even when you are on empty stomach or have eaten very little food. People with enlarged spleen tend to bleed easily due to the low level of platelets. The low level of red blood cells causes anemia. Low level of white blood cells makes the person with enlarged spleen vulnerable to infections. Depending on the extent of the organ damage, a person with enlarged spleen might experience one or more symptoms of the diseases. However, sometimes people with enlarged spleen do not experience any symptoms of the disease.
Enlarged spleen remedies
By treating the underlying infections or diseases responsible for this spleen disorder, enlarged spleen could be healed. Surgery that removes part of the spleen helps to treat the condition. Splenectomy or surgical removal of the spleen is recommended only in critical cases, when no other treatment option is available. Splenectomy makes a person vulnerable to infections. Enlarged spleen linked to liver diseases, such as cirrhosis of the liver, could be treated with certain herbs. Oregon grape, fringe tree, red root and milk thistle could heal enlarged spleen.
