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Gastritis pain in right side: Gastritis – Symptoms and causes

What Causes RUQ Pain? Causes, Symptoms, Treatments and More

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Medically Reviewed by Sanjay Ponkshe on May 06, 2023

  • What Is RUQ Pain?
  • Symptoms Associated with Right Upper Quadrant Pain
  • Causes of Right Upper Quadrant Pain
  • Treatment for Right Upper Quadrant Pain
  • Emergency Signs of Right Upper Quadrant Pain

Several health conditions can cause pain in the right upper quadrant (RUQ) of your abdomen.

Pain in your abdomen can be hard to diagnose because it holds so many organs. Doctors describe your abdomen in sections or quadrants to help find the organs that might be the cause of any health problems.

The right upper quadrant, or the RUQ, has many important organs that affect your health. It’s important to pay attention to pain in this area. These include:

  • Liver
  • Gallbladder
  • Large intestine
  • Small intestine
  • Stomach
  • Pancreas
  • Right kidney

To find your RUQ, look down at your belly and imagine a vertical line through the center. Then imagine a second horizontal line across your belly. This divides your abdomen into four sections. The upper right section near your ribs is the right upper quadrant.

Depending on the organ involved, you might have many different symptoms along with the pain in your abdomen. These might include:

  • Fever
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Swelling in your abdomen
  • Yellow skin
  • Blood in your stool
  • Tenderness in your abdomen
  • Pain when you take a breath

You might experience different kinds of pain. Most of the time, pain in your abdomen is minor and simply a discomfort. Depending on the organ and the condition, sometimes these can be serious.

Severe abdominal pain. Acute and severe pain comes on very quickly. This kind of sudden pain usually means something serious is happening.

‌Visceral pain. This pain comes from your organs, which are called the viscera. Visceral pain is a response to your organs stretching or the surrounding muscles contracting. Visceral pain is usually:

  • Dull
  • Vague
  • Nauseating
  • Hard to pinpoint

Referred pain. Sometimes problems with organs in your abdomen might cause pain in a different part of your body. For example, a problem with your gallbladder might cause pain in your abdomen but also in your right shoulder. This is called referred pain.

Somatic pain. This kind of pain comes from nerves responding to a problem in the abdominal cavity. You have a membrane that lines your abdomen called the peritoneum. The nerves here can respond to irritation or cutting. This usually gives you very sharp pain that’s easy to pinpoint.

This kind of pain is usually caused by infections in your organs. Liquids leak out and irritate the lining, causing pain and a condition called peritonitis. 

There can be several causes for right upper quadrant pain. The most common causes include:

  • Gallbladder problems
  • Gallstones
  • Cholecystitis
  • Kidney problems
  • Infection
  • Kidney stones
  • Urinary tract infection
  • Cancer
  • Pancreas problems
  • Pancreatitis
  • Peritonitis
  • Stomach problems
  • Peptic ulcers
  • Indigestion
  • Gastritis
  • Liver problems
  • Infection
  • Abscess
  • Inflammation

In some cases like indigestion and gastritis, this might cause mild symptoms like burping, gas, bloating, and pain. This can be caused by eating certain foods and may be minor.

Other conditions like sudden pancreatitis and peritonitis are serious and might cause sudden and severe symptoms.

The cause of your pain will determine the kind of treatment you get.

Your doctor will do different tests to determine the cause. This might include a physical examination where they feel and tap your abdomen. This is called palpating.

They will feel your abdomen for masses, if you involuntarily contract your muscles during touch, if the muscles stay tight even when they’re not being touched, or if you flinch with pain. They will also look for how sensitive you are to touch. If you have these signs, you might have peritonitis.

Your doctor might also do other tests, including:

  • Computed tomography (CT) scan
  • Ultrasound
  • Blood test
  • Urine tests

These tests can help look for inflammation and swelling in your organs. Urine tests will help identify kidney stones or infections.

Your doctor will treat you depending on what these tests show. You might receive:

  • Antibiotics for infections
  • Antacids for indigestion
  • Surgery to remove stones
  • Hospitalization for surgery and to receive fluids
  • Pancreatic enzymes for pancreas support
  • Pain relievers

It’s a good idea not to take pain relievers, though, until you figure out what’s causing the problem. Pain relievers can sometimes mask a more serious condition, which could harm your health.

Pain in the right upper quadrant can be a sign of a serious health condition. If you have the following symptoms, you should go to the hospital right away:

  • Severe pain
  • Fast heartbeat
  • Sweating
  • Confusion
  • Low blood pressure
  • Swelling in your abdomen
  • Pain that makes you double over
  • Pain that gets worse when you touch your abdomen
  • Throwing up blood
  • Throwing up what looks like coffee grounds

If you don’t have emergency signs but have pain and other symptoms, you should see your doctor as soon as you can.

Top Picks

What Causes RUQ Pain? Causes, Symptoms, Treatments and More

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Medically Reviewed by Sanjay Ponkshe on May 06, 2023

  • What Is RUQ Pain?
  • Symptoms Associated with Right Upper Quadrant Pain
  • Causes of Right Upper Quadrant Pain
  • Treatment for Right Upper Quadrant Pain
  • Emergency Signs of Right Upper Quadrant Pain

Several health conditions can cause pain in the right upper quadrant (RUQ) of your abdomen.

Pain in your abdomen can be hard to diagnose because it holds so many organs. Doctors describe your abdomen in sections or quadrants to help find the organs that might be the cause of any health problems.

The right upper quadrant, or the RUQ, has many important organs that affect your health. It’s important to pay attention to pain in this area. These include:

  • Liver
  • Gallbladder
  • Large intestine
  • Small intestine
  • Stomach
  • Pancreas
  • Right kidney

To find your RUQ, look down at your belly and imagine a vertical line through the center. Then imagine a second horizontal line across your belly. This divides your abdomen into four sections. The upper right section near your ribs is the right upper quadrant.

Depending on the organ involved, you might have many different symptoms along with the pain in your abdomen. These might include:

  • Fever
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Swelling in your abdomen
  • Yellow skin
  • Blood in your stool
  • Tenderness in your abdomen
  • Pain when you take a breath

You might experience different kinds of pain. Most of the time, pain in your abdomen is minor and simply a discomfort. Depending on the organ and the condition, sometimes these can be serious.

Severe abdominal pain. Acute and severe pain comes on very quickly. This kind of sudden pain usually means something serious is happening.

‌Visceral pain. This pain comes from your organs, which are called the viscera. Visceral pain is a response to your organs stretching or the surrounding muscles contracting. Visceral pain is usually:

  • Dull
  • Vague
  • Nauseating
  • Hard to pinpoint

Referred pain. Sometimes problems with organs in your abdomen might cause pain in a different part of your body. For example, a problem with your gallbladder might cause pain in your abdomen but also in your right shoulder. This is called referred pain.

Somatic pain. This kind of pain comes from nerves responding to a problem in the abdominal cavity. You have a membrane that lines your abdomen called the peritoneum. The nerves here can respond to irritation or cutting. This usually gives you very sharp pain that’s easy to pinpoint.

This kind of pain is usually caused by infections in your organs. Liquids leak out and irritate the lining, causing pain and a condition called peritonitis. 

There can be several causes for right upper quadrant pain. The most common causes include:

  • Gallbladder problems
  • Gallstones
  • Cholecystitis
  • Kidney problems
  • Infection
  • Kidney stones
  • Urinary tract infection
  • Cancer
  • Pancreas problems
  • Pancreatitis
  • Peritonitis
  • Stomach problems
  • Peptic ulcers
  • Indigestion
  • Gastritis
  • Liver problems
  • Infection
  • Abscess
  • Inflammation

In some cases like indigestion and gastritis, this might cause mild symptoms like burping, gas, bloating, and pain. This can be caused by eating certain foods and may be minor.

Other conditions like sudden pancreatitis and peritonitis are serious and might cause sudden and severe symptoms.

The cause of your pain will determine the kind of treatment you get.

Your doctor will do different tests to determine the cause. This might include a physical examination where they feel and tap your abdomen. This is called palpating.

They will feel your abdomen for masses, if you involuntarily contract your muscles during touch, if the muscles stay tight even when they’re not being touched, or if you flinch with pain. They will also look for how sensitive you are to touch. If you have these signs, you might have peritonitis.

Your doctor might also do other tests, including:

  • Computed tomography (CT) scan
  • Ultrasound
  • Blood test
  • Urine tests

These tests can help look for inflammation and swelling in your organs. Urine tests will help identify kidney stones or infections.

Your doctor will treat you depending on what these tests show. You might receive:

  • Antibiotics for infections
  • Antacids for indigestion
  • Surgery to remove stones
  • Hospitalization for surgery and to receive fluids
  • Pancreatic enzymes for pancreas support
  • Pain relievers

It’s a good idea not to take pain relievers, though, until you figure out what’s causing the problem. Pain relievers can sometimes mask a more serious condition, which could harm your health.

Pain in the right upper quadrant can be a sign of a serious health condition. If you have the following symptoms, you should go to the hospital right away:

  • Severe pain
  • Fast heartbeat
  • Sweating
  • Confusion
  • Low blood pressure
  • Swelling in your abdomen
  • Pain that makes you double over
  • Pain that gets worse when you touch your abdomen
  • Throwing up blood
  • Throwing up what looks like coffee grounds

If you don’t have emergency signs but have pain and other symptoms, you should see your doctor as soon as you can.

Top Picks

gastritis. pain in right side.

gastritis. pain in the right …

#1

But do an ultrasound of the liver.

#2

#3 9Guest

I have pain in my right side and in the middle of my stomach, tomorrow I will go for an ultrasound . Assign en week course of treatment and blood and stool tests.

#8

#9

Guest

right side hurts – I went to the gastroenterologist. .. Inflammation of the blind and large intestine from taking antibiotics.

A week’s course of treatment and blood and stool tests are scheduled.

#10

Guest

my right side hurts – I went to the gastroenterologist. .. Inflammation of the blind and large intestine from taking antibiotics.
A week’s course of treatment and blood and stool tests are scheduled.

#11

#12

#13

#14

Katya

I’ve had pain on the right side since I was 22 ((((I don’t know what I have there. Now I’m 35, it always hurts in different ways, sometimes on the right, sometimes on the left, sometimes in the center, sometimes it twists all over the stomach, and pulls you to the toilet.I think the intestines are troublesome…

#16

Ivan

Hello Pavel! Did you manage to solve the problem?

#17

Andrey

Hello, please help me figure out my problem.

#18

Urgently donate blood for the presence of hepatitis (all types), ultrasound of the liver and biliary tract, and pay attention to the color of urine 9Attention

#20

PAVEL

Hello, please help me sort out my problem. I am a 34-year-old man, for more than a year I have been suffering from a wild burning sensation in the esophagus (heartburn) and discomfort in the right hypochondrium, a burning sensation as if something is pulling in the middle, sometimes it looks like well, somewhere inside, just below the ribs on the right, All this horror began a year ago and continues every day. It saves one medicine, nolpaza, or omeprozole, (malox almagels do not help at all), but if I drink a nolpaza pill in the morning, then I can live the day is more or less normal, then all these symptoms disappear, but as soon as I stop taking this drug, exactly a day later everything comes back, it starts with feeling warm just above the abdomen, and after burning in the esophagus, and wild burning in the right hypochondrium, but from the side of the back, it bakes, sometimes it seems that on the entire right side right up to the shoulder blade …. especially after eating, and it doesn’t matter what I eat, even after oatmeal and water, I endure this for two days and start drinking nolpaza, and then everything calms down at once … I gave a bunch of tests for markers for hepatitis … (they didn’t find it) I’ve already been on ultrasound 10 times, THEY SEE ONLY A SMALL STAGGER OF BILE AND EVERYTHING, THE PANCREAS IS NORMAL, THE LIVER IS NORMAL, THE KIDNEYS ARE NORMAL, .. .. I swallowed a probe with a camera, moreover, 2 times (fibrogastroduodenoscopy), the conclusion was gastroduodenitis, and esophagitis. Helicobacter bacterium was not detected, they also did not see a diaphragmatic hernia of the esophagus, gave feces for worms, (not found) …. NO CONSTIPATION, BUT feces CONSTANTLY LIGHT YELLOW, PRACTICALLY NEVER BROWN, (MAYBE BECAUSE OF DIET?) SOMETIMES IN THE MORNING IT IS LITTLE NOSIS, BUT I HAVE NEVER VOMITED …. I DO NOT USE ALCOHOL AT ALL ALREADY 2 YEARS, I STOP SMOKING 3 YEARS AGO. TELL ME HOW TO CURE THIS ILLNESS HANDS ARE ALREADY DOWN, DIETS DID NOT HELP, CHOLOGICAL DRINKING, NOLPAZU I DRINK A YEAR BUT ESOPHOGIT WAS NOT PASSED, ALL SYMPTOMS HAVE BEEN FOR A MAXIMUM TWO DAYS … PLEASE HELP TO COME WITH THE ILLNESS PLEASE LIVE WHAT TO DO .. THE DOCTORS HAD BUT POSITIVE RESULTS NO TREATMENT

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    Pain in the right hypochondrium in front or behind: causes and treatment

    Pain in the right hypochondrium can be associated with various conditions caused by damage to the liver, kidneys, pancreas, gallbladder.

    What is the right hypochondrium? If you mentally “divide” the anterior abdominal wall into four parts (draw a vertical line, and then a horizontal line at the level of the navel), its upper quarter on the right side will be the right hypochondrium (or upper quadrant). Many important organs are located in this part, including the liver, gallbladder, the upper pole of the right kidney with the adrenal gland, the bend of the ascending and transverse colon. Since the abdominal organs are supplied with nerves from the spinal cord, pain in the right hypochondrium may be associated with pathologies of organs of another localization: pancreas, stomach, etc.

    Causes of pain in the right hypochondrium

    Acute cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder) is the most commonly diagnosed cause of pain in the right hypochondrium. It is characterized by prolonged (more than 4-6 hours) pain in the right hypochondrium and epigastrium (upper abdomen), bloating, nausea, and vomiting.

    Biliary colic (or hepatic colic) is a characteristic clinical manifestation of cholelithiasis, less often – biliary dyskinesia. It is characterized by severe pain in the right hypochondrium or epigastrium with irradiation to the right shoulder blade, collarbone, shoulder, neck; an attack of biliary colic can be confused with an attack of angina pectoris. Accompanied by bloating, nausea, vomiting, increased sweating. The attack lasts from 30 minutes to several hours, if it lasts longer, the development of a complication is likely – acute cholecystitis.

    Acute cholangitis (inflammation of the intrahepatic or extrahepatic bile ducts) is accompanied by severe pain in the right hypochondrium, a sharp increase in temperature, chills, increased sweating, jaundice. As the pathological process develops, nausea, vomiting join, confusion may be noted. The disease may have atypical manifestations in the elderly or immunocompromised patients.

    Dysfunction of the sphincter of Oddi (dysmotility of its structures and patency of the bile and pancreatic ducts) is characterized by recurrent pain in the right hypochondrium or epigastrium, radiating to the back or shoulder blade. An attack of high intensity, usually occurs at night, often 2-3 hours after a meal, lasts 30 minutes or more, may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, intolerance to a particular food (most often fatty).

    Acute hepatitis (hepatitis A, alcoholic, drug) is characterized by pain in the right hypochondrium, loss of appetite, weakness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, jaundice.

    Liver abscess (limited cavity in the liver filled with pus) is characterized by dull, aching pain in the right hypochondrium radiating to the right shoulder blade or shoulder. The condition at different stages may be accompanied by fever, nausea, bloating, diarrhea, increased sweating, tachycardia, jaundice, weight loss, ascites.

    Other causes of pain in the right hypochondrium include: liver cancer, preeclampsia, Budd-Chiari syndrome, portal vein thrombosis, urinary tract infections, liver, kidney, pancreatitis, indigestion, gastritis.

    When should I see a doctor for pain in the right hypochondrium?

    If you experience pain in the right hypochondrium for several days or more, make an appointment with your doctor to determine the cause.