The water in the stomach

What is colloquially known as water in the abdomen is also called ascitis or dropsy in professional circles. This is an increased accumulation of fluid between the organs in the abdomen. The cause of this accumulation of mostly water in the abdomen is in most cases a disease of the liver.

However, severe heart failure or various forms of cancer can also lead to dropsy. In most cases, the water remains unnoticed for a relatively long time at the beginning, since a slow increase in the amount of fluid does not cause pain. Those affected often only notice a slight feeling of pressure in the abdomen or an increase in the circumference of the abdomen or body weight.

If water in the abdomen is suspected, this can be proven with a simple imaging procedure. The method of choice here is sonography – ultrasound. Ultrasound can be used to detect water in the abdomen very reliably and non-invasively.

If the origin of the abdominal fluid is unclear or if further complications arise, an abdominal fluid puncture may be necessary. In this case, a thin needle is inserted into the abdomen under ultrasound control and a certain amount of abdominal water is taken and sent to the laboratory for further examination. The remaining water can also be drained via this puncture, thus relieving the abdomen. If no examination of the abdominal fluid is necessary, smaller amounts of abdominal fluid can also be treated with medication.

The B-Symptomatics

B-symptomatics refers to a triad of symptoms typical of cancers of the haematopoietic system. However, the so-called B-symptomatics can also be found in some other forms of cancer, but is not as important a factor as in blood or lymph node cancer. The symptom triad of the B-symptomatics includes firstly a fever of up to 40° C, secondly night sweat – here a distinction must be made between normal night sweating and real night sweat, the affected person may even have to change his entire sleeping clothes several times during the night, as they are completely wet, this is called night sweat – and thirdly a weight loss of at least 10% of the original body weight within 6 months. As with any cancer, liver cancer can also cause increased temperatures as a reaction of the body to a malignant process. However, this is not a specific symptom and can often also be a sign of an infection in the body, which is either additionally caused by the cancer or independently.