The key difference between hiatal hernia and gallbladder pain is that hiatal hernia occurs when the upper part of the stomach bulges through the diaphragm, while gallbladder pain is pain people feel in the upper right abdomen and may be due to problems in the gallbladder.
Gastrointestinal condition is a type of condition that affects the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, from mouth to anus. Some common examples are heartburn, GI tract cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance, gallstones, cholecystitis, cholangitis, anal fissure, hemorrhoids, hiatal hernia, and gallbladder pain.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Hiatal Hernia
3. What is Gallbladder Pain
4. Similarities – Hiatal Hernia and Gallbladder Pain
5. Hiatal Hernia vs Gallbladder Pain in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Hiatal Hernia vs Gallbladder Pain
What is Hiatal Hernia?
A hiatal hernia occurs when the upper part of the stomach protrudes through the diaphragm, a large muscle that separates the chest and abdomen. Diaphragm has a small opening (hiatus) through which the oesophagus passes before connecting to the stomach. In a hiatal hernia, the stomach bulges through that opening and into the chest. The typical symptoms of this condition may include heartburn, regurgitation of food or liquids, acid reflux, difficulty swallowing, chest pain, feeling full after having a meal, shortness of breath, vomiting blood, and passing black stool. A hiatal hernia might be caused by age-related changes in the diaphragm, injury to the diaphragm area after trauma or certain type of surgery, unusually large hiatus in the diaphragm, persistent coughing, vomiting, straining during a bowel movement, and exercising or lifting heavy weights. Moreover, the risk factors for hiatal hernia include age (50 or older) and obesity.
Hiatal hernia can be diagnosed through physical examination, X-ray of the upper digestive system, upper endoscopy, and esophageal manometry. Furthermore, treatment options for this condition are medications such as antacids, H2 receptor block, proton pump inhibitors, and surgery to repair a hiatal hernia.
What is Gallbladder Pain?
Gallbladder pain is a condition that results in pain in the upper right abdomen that may be related to problems in the gallbladder. The typical symptoms of this condition may include severe pain, yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills, light brown urine, and light coloured stool. Gallbladder pain can be caused by gallstones, choledocholithiasis, biliary dyskinesia, cholangitis, gallbladder polyps, gallbladder cancer, and cholangiocarcinoma. Moreover, the risk factors for gallbladder pain include obesity, estrogen, ethnicity (native Americans), gender (women more likely to affect), age (common in people older than 60), drugs (cholesterol-lowering drugs), diabetes, rapid weight loss, and fasting.
Gallbladder pain can be diagnosed through physical symptom evaluation and endoscopy. Furthermore, treatment options for gallbladder pain may include pain relievers, antibiotics, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and surgeries like laparoscopic cholecystectomy, open cholecystectomy, and robotic cholecystectomy.
What are the Similarities Between Hiatal Hernia and Gallbladder Pain?
- Hiatal hernia and gallbladder pain are two gastrointestinal conditions.
- Both conditions are characterized by severe pain.
- These conditions are more common in older people and obese people.
- Both conditions can be diagnosed through physical examination and imaging testing.
- They can be treated through specific medications and surgeries.
What is the Difference Between Hiatal Hernia and Gallbladder Pain?
A hiatal hernia occurs when the upper part of the stomach bulges through the diaphragm, while gallbladder pain is pain people feel in the upper right abdomen, which may be due to problems in the gallbladder. Thus, this is the key difference between hiatal hernia and gallbladder pain. Furthermore, hiatal hernia is caused by age-related changes in the diaphragm, injury to the diaphragm area after trauma or certain type of surgery, large hiatus in the diaphragm, persistent coughing, vomiting, straining during a bowel movement, exercising or lifting heavy weights. On the other hand, gallbladder pain is caused by gallstones, choledocholithiasis, biliary dyskinesia, cholangitis, gallbladder polyps, gallbladder cancer, and cholangiocarcinoma.
The below infographic presents the differences between hiatal hernia and gallbladder pain in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Hiatal Hernia vs Gallbladder Pain
The digestive tract breaks down food into nutrients. Moreover, these nutrients provide people with energy and keep them healthy. Gastrointestinal conditions usually affect the gut or digestive tract. Hiatal hernia and gallbladder pain are two common gastrointestinal conditions. Both conditions can cause severe pain in the abdominal region. However, hiatal hernia occurs when the upper part of the stomach pushes up through the diaphragm, while gallbladder pain is pain that people feel in the upper right abdomen, which may be due to defects in the gallbladder. So, this summarizes the difference between hiatal hernia and gallbladder pain.
Reference:
1. “Hiatal Hernia.” Mayo Clinic.
2. “Gallbladder Pain: Causes & Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Hiatal Hernia” By BruceBlaus – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “1506 Referred Pain Chart” By OpenStax College – Autonomic Reflexes and Homeostasis (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia