7 Types of Stomach Pain

Almost everybody experiences a stomach ache at some point in life. In most cases, abdominal discomfort is not serious and develops as the result of overeating, gas, or indigestion.

When diagnosing the cause of stomach pain, a doctor will ask what the pain feels like, its location, and how much it hurts. The answers, along with the physical examination and some medical tests, help doctors determine the cause of and treatment for the stomach pain.

There are many different types of stomach pain, often described by what the pain feels like and its location. Stomach pain may be the result of any number of medical conditions, which can range from completely harmless to quite serious.

1. Uncomfortable bloating

Possible cause: excess gas

Your body breaks down food through a series of chemical reactions that take place in different parts of your digestive tract. Some of the chemical reactions in your digestive tract can result in the release of gas – this is especially true when digesting some foods, such as beans, carbonated beverages and leafy green vegetables. Eating too many of these foods can cause excessive gas and uncomfortable bloating in your digestive tract.

While uncomfortable, bloating is not usually serious and goes away on its own or with the help of over-the-counter drugs. Those prone to uncomfortable bloating may prevent it by limiting their intake of food and beverages are known to trigger gas.

2. Sharp pain in the lower right side of your abdomen

Possible cause: appendicitis

Doctors once thought that the appendix is a vestigial organ, which is an organ that has lost its function through evolution. Now many medical professionals think the appendix plays a role in maintaining a healthy balance of microorganisms living in the human gut. Infection or blockage of the hollow chamber within the appendix can cause inflammation. Bacteria can build up inside the appendix; if the appendix bursts, it can release the bacteria into the abdominal cavity and cause a number of serious complications.

Treatment is essential due to the dangers associated with a ruptured appendix. Antibiotics can be an effective treatment in some cases, but surgical removal of the appendix is usually necessary.

3. Sharp stabbing pain in your upper right abdomen

Possible cause: gallstones

Your gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped organ in your upper right abdomen, just beneath your liver. Its main job is to store some of the bile your body uses to digest food. Your gallbladder squirts bile through a thin tube known as the biliary duct into your small intestine just as food leaves your stomach. Your liver can excrete excess cholesterol, which can collect inside your gallbladder and harden into gallstones. You may feel sharp, jabbing pain in your upper right abdomen when your gallbladder tries to pass the gallstones through your biliary duct.

Some people who have gallstones never experience any symptoms. When pain begins, however, the condition requires prompt treatment. Depending on the severity of pain and other factors, treatment options range from oral medications that dissolve gallstones to surgery to remove the gallbladder.

4. Pain or burning in your upper middle abdominal

Possible cause: peptic ulcer

A layer of thick mucus acts as a barrier between the lining of your stomach and the caustic juices used in digestion. Infection, heavy drinking, aspirin, smoking or other digestive problems can compromise the mucus barrier to allow the digestive juices to eat away at your stomach lining. Damage done by the stomach acid can allow sores, known as peptic ulcers, to develop on the stomach lining. These ulcers can cause stomach pain and even bleeding.

Treatment focuses on neutralizing or reducing stomach acid to give sores time to heal. If a peptic ulcer develops as the result of an infection, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics.

5. General abdominal pain with diarrhea

Possible cause: gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis is inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, usually affecting the stomach or small intestine. Also known as infectious diarrhea, gastroenteritis is typically caused by rotavirus, norovirus, adenovirus, or other viruses. The infection triggers inflammation, which then causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, and sometimes vomiting.

Treatment typically focuses on managing diarrhea and other symptoms. Fluids are helpful in counteracting dehydration resulting from diarrhea and vomiting.

6. General abdominal pain with bloating

Possible cause: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

IBS is an umbrella term for a group of conditions that cause common symptoms, such as abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel habits, including constipation or diarrhea.

There is currently no cure for IBS. Treatment focuses on managing symptoms and may include dietary changes and medications to treat diarrhea and constipation.

7. Pain with bloody diarrhea

Possible cause: Inflammatory bowel disease

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are both types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which means they involve inflammation of different parts of the digestive tract. This inflammation can cause intestinal bleeding and abdominal pain.

There is no cure for IBD, so treatment focuses on managing symptoms. Medication can reduce inflammation and ease symptoms. Surgery to remove part or all of the colon may be required in severe cases.

If you are experiencing severe stomach pain, bleeding, or excessive vomiting or diarrhea, seek medical care immediately. Consult with your gastroenterologist if you have mild to moderate stomach pain without bleeding, or if your stomach pain persists.

Abdominal pain in adults – Better Health Channel

About abdominal pain

Abdominal pain is pain felt anywhere from below your ribs to your pelvis. It is also known as tummy pain or stomach pain. The abdomen houses many organs, including your stomach, liver, pancreas, small and large bowel, and reproductive organs. There are also major blood vessels in the abdomen.

Serious causes of abdominal pain include appendicitis and pregnancy problems. However, most abdominal pain is harmless and goes away without surgery.

Most people only need relief from their symptoms. Sometimes, abdominal pain can stop and the cause will never be known, or the cause may becomes more obvious with time.

When to see a doctor about abdominal pain

Go straight to your doctor or the emergency department of the nearest hospital if you have any of the following:

• severe pain
• pain lasting for several hours
• pain or vaginal bleeding if you are pregnant
• pain in your scrotum if you are a male
• pain and vomiting or shortness of breath
• pain and vomiting blood
• blood in your bowel motions or urine
• pain that spreads to your chest, neck or shoulder
• fever and sweats
• become pale and clammy
• unable to pass urine
• unable to move your bowels or pass gas
• any other concerns.

Symptoms of abdominal pain in adults

The type of pain can vary greatly. When abdominal pain occurs, it can:

• be sharp, dull, stabbing, cramp-like, twisting or fit many other descriptions
• be brief, come and go in waves, or it can be constant
• make you throw up (vomit)
• make you want to stay still or make you so restless that you pace around trying to find ‘just the right position’
• vary from a minor problem to one needing urgent surgery.

Causes of abdominal pain in adults

There are many reasons why you may have pain in your abdomen. People often worry about appendicitis, gallstones, ulcers, infections and pregnancy problems. Doctors also worry about these, as well as many other conditions.

Abdominal pain may not come from the abdomen. Some surprising causes include heart attacks and pneumonia, conditions in the pelvis or groin, some skin rashes like shingles, and problems with stomach muscles like a strain. The pain may occur along with problems in passing urine or with bowel motions, or period problems.

With so many organs and structures in the abdomen, it can be hard for a doctor to be absolutely sure about the cause of your problem.

The doctor will ask you several questions and then examine you carefully. The doctor may perform no further tests. The cause of your pain may be quite clearly not serious. Another scenario may be that the doctor is unable to find a cause, but the pain gets better within hours or days. The doctor will assess whether the pain requires surgery or admission to hospital.

Diagnosis of abdominal pain in adults

To diagnose abdominal pain, doctors and healthcare professionals are likely to ask you the following questions:

Where is the pain?

Doctors and other health professionals will first ask you where you feel the pain. Pain above the umbilicus (belly button) but below the ribcage on the right may be gallstone pain. Gallstone pain may spread (or radiate) to the right shoulder or the back.

Pain from kidney stones is felt in the right side or left side, more in the back than the front of the abdomen, and tends to radiate downwards into the groin on the same side.

Pain in the very centre of the abdomen is more likely to be coming from the intestines, however in males, testicular pain is also felt in the centre of the abdomen.

When did the pain start?

Abdominal pain is ‘acute’ if present for less than a day or 2, ‘persistent’ if longer than a day or 2, and ‘chronic’ if present for more than 2 weeks.

How severe is the pain?

Health professionals will usually ask you to rate the pain or give a pain score out of 10. Mild pain might be rated 3 to 4, noticeable and unpleasant (like a toothache) but not severe enough to interfere with usual activity.

Severe pain stops all other activities (like labour pain in childbirth). Gallstone or kidney stone pain is often severe.

Does the pain come and go?

Abdominal pain that comes and goes in waves is called colic, and comes from the contraction of a hollow organ such as the bowel, the gallbladder or the urinary tract. Pain from other organs may be constant – for example stomach ulcers, pancreatitis or pain from an abdominal infection.

Have you had this pain before?

Gallstone pain and kidney stone pain will often recur every few months.

Period pain can be severe and may indicate an underlying problem such as endometriosis or pelvic inflammatory disease, while pain in the middle of the menstrual cycle can be due to an ovarian follicle.

What events led up to the pain?

This is an important question as it might point to the cause of the pain. Examples are trauma such as a sporting injury or car accident, recent medication such as anti-inflammatories or antibiotics, or heavier than usual alcohol intake, which might trigger pancreatitis.

Are there associated features?

Blood in the urine, together with flank pain (pain between the pelvis and the ribs), point to kidney stones.

Vomiting with pain in the centre of the abdomen can point to a small bowel obstruction. Severe constipation with pain in the side may point to a large bowel obstruction.

Do you have a history of previous surgery or radiation therapy to the abdomen?

Recent surgery to the bowel or other abdominal organs might result in complications, such as infection, that could cause abdominal pain.

Scarring to the tissue surrounding the bowel, or adhesions, can be caused by surgery or radiation therapy and trigger bowel obstruction.

Examinations and tests

If examinations and tests are needed, these may include:

• a rectal exam to check for hidden blood or other problems
• a check of the penis and scrotum
• a pelvic exam to check for problems in the womb (uterus), fallopian tubes and ovaries, and a pregnancy test
• a blood test to look for infection (which causes a raised white cell count) or bleeding (which causes a low blood count or haemoglobin)
• other blood tests may look at enzymes in the liver, pancreas and heart to sort out which organ may be involved
• a urine test to look for a urine infection or blood (if there is a kidney stone)
• an ECG (an electrical tracing of the heart) to rule out a heart attack
• other tests, including x-ray, ultrasound or CT scan
• an endoscopy – an examination where a flexible tube with a light and video camera at the tip is used to examine some internal organs without the need for surgery. Different names are used depending on which organ is being looked at
• sometimes you may be referred to another doctor to help find the cause of the problem.

If you do have tests, the doctor will explain the results to you. Some results may take a number of days to come back and these will be sent to your local doctor.

Treatment for abdominal pain in adults

Your treatment depends on what is causing your pain, but may include:

• Pain relief – your pain may not go away fully with painkillers, but it should ease.
• Fluids – you may have fluids given into a vein to correct fluid loss and rest your bowel.
• Medicines – for example, you may be given something to stop you vomiting.
• Fasting – your doctor may ask you not to eat or drink anything until the cause of your pain is known.

Taking care of yourself at home

Most abdominal pain goes away without special treatment. Be guided by your doctor, but there are some things you can do to help ease the pain, including:

• Place a hot water bottle or heated wheat bag on your abdomen.
• Soak in a warm bath. Take care not to scald yourself.
• Drink plenty of clear fluids such as water.
• Reduce your intake of coffee, tea and alcohol as these can make the pain worse.
• When you are allowed to eat again, start with clear liquids, then progress to bland foods such as crackers, rice, bananas or toast. Your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Try over-the-counter antacids, to help reduce some types of pain.
• Take mild painkillers such as paracetamol. Please check the packet for the right dose. Avoid aspirin or anti-inflammatory drugs unless advised to take them by a doctor. These drugs can make some types of abdominal pain worse.

Where to get help

• In an emergency, always call triple zero (000)
• Your GP (doctor)
• NURSE-ON-CALL Tel. 1300 606 024 – for expert health information and advice (24 hours, 7 days)
• The emergency department of your nearest hospital

Abdominal pain | Directory KLRTS

Moscow, st. Partizanskaya, 41

Kuntsevsky
medical and rehabilitation center.

What is abdominal pain

Abdominal pain is medically called abdominal pain. A symptom can indicate gastroenterological, urological, gynecological problems and only a specialist can understand which group the abdominal pain belongs to.

Causes and symptoms

To prescribe treatment for abdominal pain, you need to understand the causes that caused it. Based on practice, it is aggravated by intra-intestinal pressure in the intestine, contraction of the muscular membrane, stretching of the lumen of the large or small intestine, impaired blood supply, and taking certain medications.
As a rule, each disease is characterized by a certain pain in the abdomen:0004

Increasing pain in the abdomen during physical exertion, lifting weights, walking indicates an inflammatory process in the abdominal cavity. The symptom is dangerous and requires immediate medical attention,

Symptoms

Abdominal pain varies in character. Discomfort can be cutting, girdle, pulling, burning, stabbing, cramping, occur periodically or be permanent. At the appointment, the doctor first of all interviews the patient and asks to describe an unpleasant symptom.
Often the pain is so severe that the patient does not notice other symptoms, for example:

• fever,
• decrease or increase in blood pressure,
• hardening of the abdomen and tension of the muscles of the peritoneum,
• shortness of breath,
• sour burps,
• general weakness, fatigue, lethargy,
• belly augmentation,
• nausea,
• weight loss and exhaustion,
• skin color changes,
• stool disorders.

In this case, you should not hesitate to visit a doctor. If pain attacks occur rarely and last no more than a minute, then preventive consultation is required.

Which doctor treats abdominal pain

If you have any stomach ailments, you need to make an appointment with a gastroenterologist. Depending on the situation, the doctor will prescribe an examination and determine the diagnosis, and, if necessary, send to another specialist.
At the Kuntsevsky Medical and Rehabilitation Center, appointments are made by appointment.

To make an appointment, choose any method:

• call the clinic +7 (495) 103-99-55,
• order a callback,
• leave an application for an appointment, through a convenient form on the website:

SIGN UP

Methods of treatment

As part of the treatment of abdominal pain, the gastroenterologist selects and develops therapeutic treatment for each individual. It takes into account the results of laboratory tests, instrumental examination, the age of the patient and the clinical picture.
After diagnosis, hospitalization and surgery may be required. In the treatment and rehabilitation center in the Kuntsevo district, all conditions have been created for a comfortable stay of patients and competent treatment.

Rehabilitation and restoration of lifestyle

For some diseases, the doctor talks about lifestyle adjustments after a course of treatment. Recommends to give up bad habits, stick to a diet and proper fractional nutrition. A certain group of patients is prescribed a course of physiotherapy and exercise therapy to strengthen the muscles and muscles of the internal organs of the abdominal cavity.

Why is it necessary to treat abdominal pain with us?

Diagnosis is one of the most difficult tasks. Establishing a diagnosis requires special professionalism and experience. In a clinic near the Molodyozhnaya metro station in Moscow, qualified gastroenterologists are being treated, whose clinical experience allows us to detect the disease in time. Our center is equipped with the latest equipment to help clarify the cause of abdominal pain.
Doctors are regularly trained in new treatment methods abroad and, based on the data obtained, provide medical care, develop a treatment regimen and subsequent recovery.

References:

1. Shulpekova Yu.O., Ivashkin V.T. Symptom of visceral pain in the pathology of the digestive system. Doctor 2008
2. Viley J. Evaluation and significance of abdominal pain // Pathophysiology of the digestive system / J. Henderson. St. Petersburg: Nevsky Dialect, 1997
3. Ivashkin V.T. Pain in the abdomen / V.T. Ivashkin, A.A. Sheptulin. – M. : MEDpressinform, 2012
4. Balitsky, B.Kh “Abdominal pain syndrome” Diagnosis and treatment of patients with diseases and injuries of the abdominal organs, “acute abdomen” at the prehospital stage / O.S. Oliferova, D.A. Orazliev // Educational and methodological manual Blagoveshchensk. – 2009

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Pain, heartburn, cramps in the abdomen – what the symptoms will tell

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Pain, heartburn, cramps in the abdomen – what the symptoms will tell

Pain, heartburn, abdominal cramps – what the symptoms will tell.

Unpleasant sensations in the stomach or intestines are familiar to almost every person.

With a modern lifestyle, which is characterized by poor nutrition and a large amount of stress, symptoms such as heartburn, a feeling of heaviness in the stomach, and pain often appear. Often they are attributed to poor irregular nutrition or, conversely, to food excesses that precede discomfort in the stomach. In most cases, the symptoms go away on their own or after the use of simple medicines, the cause for concern disappears, and the person continues to lead the same lifestyle – until the next episode of heartburn or abdominal pain. Not everyone understands that the resumption of unpleasant symptoms is a reason to see a doctor, and unsystematic medication can only exacerbate the problem.
Most common digestive symptoms

The most common symptom that makes a person do something urgently is pain. Pain in the upper or lower abdomen, before eating or after eating, on the right under the ribs or diffuse, barely perceptible, throughout the lower abdomen. Abdominal pain may be accompanied by other symptoms – heartburn, belching, bitterness in the mouth, nausea, upset stool.
Obsessive, aching pain in the upper abdomen are usually found in chronic gastritis. A very characteristic feature of pain in the stomach with gastritis is their clear connection with the intake of irritating food – spicy, pickled, fatty, fried. Pain after eating appears along with sensations of heaviness and fullness in the abdomen, heartburn, an unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth are also possible. Episodes of such pain can be associated with banal overeating or taking dishes uncharacteristic of the usual diet. In this case, the pain goes away on its own after returning to a normal diet. If the pain in the stomach does not go away, then you need to go to the doctor. Chronic gastritis is a well-studied disease that is successfully treated. Only a doctor can confirm the diagnosis and prescribe the correct treatment after gastroscopy
Severe stomach pain may be associated with peptic ulcer disease. They can be “hungry” outside of meals, at night, and also occur after meals. In the case of peptic ulcer pain does not occur as quickly as with gastritis, but after a few hours. Pain relief is possible with a light meal or dairy products. Without treatment, gastric ulcer brings a lot of extremely unpleasant sensations to a person, while with a competent approach it can be treated well. With the modern abundance of drugs and with the participation of a qualified doctor, ulcers and stomach pains can be forgotten for a long time.
Heartburn alone or in combination with discomfort in the upper abdomen may be the result of overeating, taking exotic foods, alcohol. This is a common symptom that occurs in people of all ages and is considered not “serious” enough to warrant a visit to the doctor. However, with frequent occurrence of heartburn, especially if it is combined with belching , it cannot be ignored. Heartburn is the result of the contents of the stomach entering the esophagus, pharynx and oral cavity, while the food is mixed with hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes, which means that the mucous membrane of the esophagus, oral cavity, and tooth enamel suffer. Heartburn can be a symptom of chronic gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), etc.

Pain in the right hypochondrium is most often not associated with food intake or time of day. Such pains cannot be called acute, they are rather pulling, aching, bursting. Their cause may be chronic cholecystitis – an inflammatory disease of the gallbladder, biliary dyskinesia – excessive or, conversely, insufficient contraction of the gallbladder and ducts, which entails a violation of bile excretion. Pain on the right under the ribs, as a rule, does not appear “alone”, the patient is noted for heaviness in the stomach and right hypochondrium, bloating , stool disorders – in a word, signs of a violation of the digestive process.
Acute pain in the right hypochondrium may occur with biliary or hepatic colic. This condition develops when there are stones or sand in the gallbladder (calculous cholecystitis). The movement of the stone through the bile ducts causes their sharp contraction, which causes severe pain.
Aching pains in the lower abdomen are often observed in inflammatory bowel diseases. Usually they are accompanied by stool disorders (diarrhea or constipation), bloating.

What else do you need to know about stomach and intestinal symptoms?

Pain in the digestive tract does not necessarily indicate the presence of any disease. The stressful rhythm of life, together with poor nutrition, is the basic combination for the formation of diseases of the stomach and intestines, but depending on the initial level of human health, this “duet” does not always trigger the development of diseases. There is such a term – stressful stomach pains that occur against the background of serious emotional overload and do not require any treatment other than rest and sedative therapy.
In general, pain in the stomach or any part of the abdomen is the most common symptom in people of all ages and lifestyles. Pain in the abdomen can be associated with a variety of diseases – both the digestive system and other body systems (cardiovascular, respiratory). In the latter case, the so-called gastric remedies are ineffective, so to determine the true cause of discomfort in the abdomen, you need to consult a doctor.

The most common diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and their treatment

Chronic gastritis is an inflammatory process of the gastric mucosa, most often developed under the influence of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. Treatment includes, in addition to standard means to eliminate unpleasant symptoms, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial drugs.

Gastric and duodenal ulcer – the formation of an ulcer on the mucosa at the site of its defect, which is formed under the influence of overly aggressive factors. The disease is also called “stress disease” because there is a level of stress in development (combined with poor nutrition and the use of certain medications). One of the leading directions in treatment, in addition to drugs, is bed rest and the absence of neuro-emotional overload.

GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), characterized by regular backflow of stomach contents into the esophagus. Belching, heartburn, pain in the esophagus and stomach are significant manifestations of the disease. There are various forms of the disease, the treatment of which differs. The basis of therapy is the use of a complex of drugs and the so-called behavioral therapy that prevents the backflow of stomach contents into the esophagus (for example, no meals before bedtime, do not take a lying position immediately after eating, etc. ).

characterized by regular backflow of stomach contents into the esophagus. Belching, heartburn, pain in the esophagus and stomach are significant manifestations of the disease. There are various forms of the disease, the treatment of which differs. The basis of therapy is the use of a complex of drugs and the so-called behavioral therapy that prevents the backflow of stomach contents into the esophagus (for example, no meals before bedtime, do not take a lying position immediately after eating, etc.).

Food intolerance (food intolerance) – the development of abdominal pain and other symptoms associated with the use of certain foods, most often dairy products. Treatment consists in the exclusion of these products from the diet and the normalization of digestive processes with the help of probiotics, prebiotics, enterosorbents.

Colitis – inflammatory diseases of the large intestine that develop as a result of various causes – infections, malnutrition, alcohol abuse, long-term use of drugs, etc. Depending on the type of colitis, drugs of various groups are used.

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Important notes

For all gastrointestinal diseases, specialized dietary nutrition is prescribed. Diet is the most important area of ​​treatment, often just following the right diet is enough to improve well-being. For the health of the digestive system, dietary restrictions (the absence of harmful foods in the diet) and maintaining weight within normal limits are important, since if you have extra pounds, your metabolism gradually worsens, which negatively affects the functioning of the stomach, liver, and intestines.

The most common diseases of the digestive system are very well studied, they can be successfully treated, it is important to see a doctor in time, undergo a full examination, and then get recommendations on treatment and lifestyle.

If you have health problems. You do not know which doctor treats this pathology and whom it is better to contact.

Call us: +7(495) 210-02-48; +7(495) 799-02-06.

Call center doctors will advise you and refer you to the right specialist.

FAQ

FAQ

01

How is the diagnosis of gastritis confirmed or excluded?

During gastroscopy, material (biopsy) is taken for histological examination. Based on the results of this study, the diagnosis is confirmed or not – “Gastritis”. This is the only way to confirm the diagnosis.

02

What is the treatment for gastritis?

Everything depends on the form of gastritis.