Alcohol affects the spleen by causing enlargement to the spleen in some cases.
You can drink alcohol without a spleen as the spleen has no role in the metabolism of alcohol.
However if you take pain medications then you should not drink alcohol.
Losing your spleen affects you by compromising your immune system and puts at risk for serious infections to develop.
The liver however will take over many of your spleens functions so you will be able to cope with most infections.
Having no spleen is sometimes a disability although not always.
Without a spleen you have a 20 percent disability rating.
Spleen problems are pretty serious especially if you have an enlarged spleen or the spleen ruptures.
Enlarged spleens can reduce the number of healthy red blood cells, platelets and white cells in the bloodstream which can lead to more frequent infections.
Spleen problems may also lead to anemia and increased bleeding that are possible.
Healthy spleens are also easily damaged and soft.
After spleen removal you can expect to have a low fever and feel nauseated and tired.
After a few days you should begin to feel better and within a week you should feel much better after the spleen removal.
Without a spleen you are very immunocompromised and are at an increased risk of deadly or severe infections from encapsulated bacteria.
However vaccines are available and needed to help reduce your risk of developing these infections.
The condition in which splenectomy is not recommended is people with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia or thrombocytopenia, except as a last resort after medical therapy has failed, and in patients with bone marrow hypoplasia or aplasia, because the spleen is the major hematopoietic organ in these people.
The diseases that people without a spleen is more susceptible to are blood poisoning and pneumonia.
The lifetime risk of sepsis after splenectomy is 5 percent.
The long term effects of a splenectomy are infections and health issues such as cancer, coronary artery disease, pulmonary embolism and septicemia which puts you at an increased risk of death.
The benefits of no spleen or spleen removal are the curing of several health issues such as cancer, blood diseases and other infections.
However without a spleen your immune system is compromised so the removal of the spleen is only done as a last resort and when truly necessary.
The autoimmune disease that attacks the spleen is ALPS which is causes the production of an abnormally large number of lymphocytes which results in enlargement of the lymph nodes, the liver and the spleen.
You do sometimes get sick more without a spleen as without a spleen you are more at risk for infections and diseases.
Without a spleen you're at increased risk of becoming sick or getting serious infections.
This risk is highest shortly after surgery and people without a spleen may also have a harder time recovering from an illness or injury.
The mortality rate for post splenectomy sepsis is 1.4%
The risk of infection and death among post splenectomy patients is 3.2% which a mortality rate of 1.4%
The most important risk post splenectomy is OPSI which is also called post splenectomy sepsis syndrome that is defined as generalized non specific flu like prodrome that is followed by rapid deterioration to full blown fulminant septic shock that can occur within 24 hours to 48 hours of the onset.
The most feared complication of splenectomy is an overwhelming post-splenectomy infection which is a rapidly progressive fulminant infection that is linked to spontaneous bacteremia and particularly involving S.
The vaccines you need if you don't have a spleen are.
Pneumococcal vaccine, PCV20 (Prevnar-20) – 0.5mL IM.
Haemophilus influenzae vaccine (HiB) – 0.5mL IM.
Meningococcal vaccine, MenACWY (Menquadfi/Menveo) – 0.5mL IM.
Serogroup B meningococcal, MenB-4C (Bexsero) – 0.5ml IM.
The infections that the spleen fights are germs in the blood and blood infections.
Your spleen controls the levels of white blood cells, red blood cells and the platelets that are the small cells that form blood clots.
The role of the spleen in autoimmune is to secrete factors that are required for the expansion and or activation of the SDMCs and establishing a niche for the cells.
The spleen filters the blood, removing and destroying bacteria and other infectious organisms in the bloodstream.
It also produces antibodies (immunoglobulins).
The 5 complications of splenectomy are bleeding, pulmonary embolism, pancreatitis/fistula, Atelectasis and pulmonary and abdominal sepsis.
You can donate blood if you don't have a spleen if the spleen was removed due to physical injury or trauma, although you must wait at least 6 months after you made a full recovery.
If your spleen was removed due to an illness such as lymphoma or thrombocytopaenic purpura then you cannot donate blood after the spleen was removed.
The 4 vaccines that are required after a splenectomy are.
Pneumococcal vaccine, PCV20 (Prevnar-20) – 0.5mL IM.
Haemophilus influenzae vaccine (HiB) – 0.5mL IM.
Meningococcal vaccine, MenACWY (Menquadfi/Menveo) – 0.5mL IM.
Serogroup B meningococcal, MenB-4C (Bexsero) – 0.5ml IM.
People without a functional spleen need to be vaccinated against pneumococcus, haemophilus influenzae type B, and meningococcus to reduce the risk of life-threatening infections.
When the spleen is removed the liver will then take over many of the functions of the spleen.
After the spleen is removed the liver will cope with most infections that the spleen used to deal with.
The cause of spleen death is transcapsular spleen rupture.
During a transcapsular spleen rupture the spleen capsule and parenchyma rupture simultaneously and then blood effuses into the peritoneal cavity and then leads to acute blood loss and immediate death.
You can live a normal life expectancy without a spleen although having no spleen puts you at greater risk of certain blood infections.
Your risk of blood infections without a spleen are highest in the first 2 years after the spleen was removed and stays the highest for the rest of your life.
You can live without a spleen, although without a spleen you can be at a greater risk for developing certain types of blood infections.
The degree of risk for blood infections without a spleen depends on your age and if you have other diseases.
However your risk of infection without a spleen is highest in the first two years after splenectomy, it stays high for the rest of your life.
Your spleen is a fist-sized organ found in the upper left side of your abdomen, next to your stomach and behind your left ribs.
The spleen is an important part of your immune system but you can survive without it because the liver can take over many of the spleen's functions.
The spleen and the gallbladder are peritoneal as the spleen and the gallbladder are contained in the peritoneal cavity.
The bladder is an retroperitoneal organ.
The urinary system including the urinary bladder and ureters are retroperitoneal organs which means they lie behind the peritoneum.
Intraperitoneal organs are the organs having a mesentery, such as the stomach, small intestine (jejunum and ileum), transverse colon, liver and gallbladder.
The difference between peritoneal and retroperitoneal is.
Intraperitoneal: peritonealized organs having a mesentery, such as the stomach, small intestine (jejunum and ileum), transverse colon, liver and gallbladder.