Are you worried about your Abdominal Pain?
Abdominal pain can be caused by many different things, can be mild or severe, continuous or intermittent, fleeting or long-lasting.
Common causes include:
- Trapped wind
- Indigestion
- Constipation
- Diarrhoea
- Period pain
- Appendicitis
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Gallstones
- Kidney stones.
Self-diagnosis of Abdominal Pain is not recommended, however if your pain is mild and you have reason to think it is caused by gas, indigestion or other non-serious conditions there are a number of things you can try in your everyday life to try and help:
- Lessen caffeine intake
- Lessen alcohol intake
- Maintain good posture post-meal
- Physical exercise post-meal can also help
- Eat little and often, eating smaller portions with more frequency can aid digestion
- Eat slower and chew your food better
- Stay away from foods that give you gas
You should immediately call 999 if your abdominal pain is accompanied by pressure or pain in your chest or if you have recently suffered from an accident or serious physical injury, or if pregnant.
You should also seek further medical attention if you are experiencing any of the following:
- Can't stand due to severe pain
- Swelling or tenderness of the stomach
- Bloody or black stool
- Pain lasts for more than a few hours
- Nausea and Vomiting
- Vomiting with blood
- Dramatic weight loss
- Unable to breathe normally
Here at VIDA we have expert clinicians on hand to help diagnose and treat your condition. To find out more about these services, we recommend visiting the following pages:
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Angina (reduced blood flow to the heart)
- Appendicitis
- Cancer
- Celiac disease
- Cholangitis (bile duct inflammation)
- Cholecystitis
- Crohn's disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease)
- Cystitis (bladder inflammation)
- Diabetic ketoacidosis
- Duodenitis (inflammation in the first part of the small intestine)
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Endometriosis
- Enlarged spleen (splenomegaly)
- Fecal impaction (hardened stool that can't be eliminated)
- Functional dyspepsia
- Gallbladder cancer
- Gallstones
- Gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining)
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Heart attack
- Hepatitis
- Hiatal hernia
- Inguinal hernia
- Injury
- Intestinal obstruction
- Intussusception (in children)
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Kidney cancer
- Kidney infection (pyelonephritis)
- Kidney stones
- Lead poisoning
- Liver abscess (pus-filled pocket in the liver)
- Liver cancer
- Mesenteric ischemia (decreased blood flow to the intestines)
- Mesenteric lymphadenitis (swollen lymph nodes in the folds of membrane that hold the abdominal organs in place)
- Mesenteric thrombosis (blood clot in a vein carrying blood away from your intestines)
- Mittelschmerz (ovulation pain)
- Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- Ovarian cysts
- Pancreatic cancer
- Pancreatitis (pancreas inflammation)
- Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
- Peptic ulcer
- Pericarditis (inflammation of the tissue around the heart)
- Peritonitis (infection of the abdominal lining)
- Pleurisy (inflammation of the membrane surrounding the lungs)
- Pneumonia
- Pulmonary infarction (loss of blood flow to the lungs)
- Ruptured spleen
- Salpingitis (inflammation of the fallopian tubes)
- Sclerosing mesenteritis
- Shingles
- Sickle cell anemia
- Spleen infection
- Splenic abscess (pus-filled pocket in the spleen)
- Stomach cancer
- Strained or pulled abdominal muscle
- Torn colon
- Tubo-ovarian abscess (pus-filled pocket involving a fallopian tube and an ovary)
- Ulcerative colitis (a type of inflammatory bowel disease)
- Uremia (buildup of waste products in your blood)
- Urinary tract infection (UTI)
- Viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu)
Can anxiety cause stomach pain?
Anxiety can put a large amount of stress on your body. Some people may notice when their stress and anxiety is at its highest, they experience aches in the stomach. If left untreated, stomach pain may result in indigestion.
It can be difficult to diagnose stomach pain caused by anxiety and is important to discuss all the symptoms with your doctor to rule out any other issues such as IBS, stomach ulcers or digestion issues.
Does paracetamol help stomach pain?
Paracetamol can be taken to treat stomach ache and may be better to take than ibuprofen when suffering with abdominal pain.
When taking paracetamol, you should take 1-2 500mg tablets 4 times within 24 hours and leave 4 hours between each dose (up to 8 500mg tablets in total).
Paracetamol is safe for most however you should check with your doctor before taking paracetamol if you:
- Have liver or kidney problems
- Are allergic to paracetamol or have had an allergic reaction to paracetamol
- Take medicine for epilepsy or Tuberculosis
- Are drinking more than 14 units a week of alcohol
- Currently taking warfarin (blood thinner)