My husband and his brother have had pancreatic problems. When my husband went into the hospital, he was told it was because he drinks. However, my husband does not drink large amounts of alcohol. Recently, his brother was admitted to the hospital with pancreatitis, and he does not drink at all. Both drink large amounts of sweetened tea. Could this have anything to do with their pancreas problems?

Mari

Inflammation of the pancreas, or pancreatitis, causes severe abdominal pain, along with relentless nausea and vomiting. Patients with acute pancreatitis usually need to be hospitalized and given frequent doses of painkillers until the inflammatory process has diminished.

Chronic pancreatitis occurs as a result of repeated episodes of acute pancreatitis, which cause scarring in the gland and its ducts. Patients with chronic pancreatitis suffer from frequent bouts of abdominal pain and often have diabetes, diarrhea and weight loss due to the inability of the pancreas to adequately produce digestive enzymes.

Pancreatitis has many possible causes, with the most common being alcohol consumption and gallstone disease. Alcohol damages the pancreas both by its direct effect on the gland and by blocking its ductwork. Certain environmental toxins have been implicated in causing acute pancreatitis. There have also been reports of people developing pancreatitis as a result of allergic responses to common foods. However, I do not know of this occurring as a result of drinking tea.

A rare hereditary form of pancreatitis has been described in medical literature, and the gene responsible for this disease has been isolated. In the case of your husband's family, if alcohol is not the cause of the pancreatitis, it may be worthwhile to seek a consultation with a gastroenterologist experienced in the care of pancreatitis to further look into the cause.