What Is Abdominal Pain
Overview Of Pain In The Abdomen
What is abdominal pain? We define abdominal pain as any irritation or abnormal sensation or discomfort in an area of the body from below the level of the breast plate down to the level of the top of the bones of the pelvis in front or on the sides. Pain in the abdomen is also referred to as tummy pain or belly pain.
A look at the illustration to the right will demonstrate why the causes of this common condition is difficult to diagnose - the abdomen is like a mine field with literally several scores of possible things that could go wrong to cause pain there. The key to diagnosis and treatment of pain in the abdomen is to understand the different likely causes of pain in the various regions of the abdomen.
Stomach pain is a word used loosely to describe abdominal pain
by many people outside the medical field. In strict terms, it refers only to pain coming from the stomach, as against the abdomen.
Another commonly used word to describe abdominal pain is stomach ache or belly pain. We shall use all the above to mean abdominal pain.
Types Of Abdominal Pain
There
are different types of abdominal pain, depending on the seriousness and potential to be life-threatening, the area of the abdomen involved, and the time span of such pain. For clarity, let us explain what is abdominal pain in terms of the various criteria just mentioned.
Acute Abdominal Pain
Acute abdominal pain refers to an pain in the abdomen, that is recent in onset with potential to have life threatening consequences, if nothing is done. If you suspect that you might be having any of the causes of acute abdomen listed here, please see your doctor immediately. Examples of common causes of acute abdominal or stomach pain are:
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Chronic Abdominal Pain
Chronic Abdominal pain are abdominal pain lasting for more than six weeks, and often does not pose immediate threat to life. In order to understand what is abdominal pain in terms of length of time it is going on, we have listed the following as common causes of chronic abdominal pain:
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Upper Abdominal Pain
Upper abdominal or stomach pain are pain occurring anywhere in the abdomen, above the level of the umbilicus or navel. Common causes of upper stomach pain are:
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Upper abdominal pain could be:
The more common causes of pain in each of these upper abdominal regions are listed in the illustration above.
Lower Abdominal Pain
Lower abdominal pain is perhaps the most common site for abdominal pain. It is abdominal pain occurring below the level of the umbilicus or navel. The following are the more common causes of lower abdominal pain:
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Diagnosis Of Abdominal Pain
In order to find out what could be causing abdominal pain in a patient, doctors usually want a very good story describing the pain, then proceeds to carrying out a physical examination and then blood tests, urine tests, and scans if needed. The true answer of what is abdominal pain for any given patient lies in the result of these questions, examinations, tests and scans.
What Is Abdominal Pain Story
For doctors to be able to point to what is causing abdominal pain in a patient, a good story describing the pain is important. The typical questions doctors would like to find answers to are:
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Providing clear and definite answers to those questions could help doctors, in most cases, to reach at least 70% of the diagnosis what might be causing abdominal pain.
The doctor may then proceed to do a physical examination and order some blood and urine test.
Tests For Abdominal Pain
In other to verify or glean further information, after a thorough physical examination, the following blood test are typically requested:
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Treatment Of Abdominal Pain
Once the cause of an abdominal pain is identified, treatment will depend on whether it is a cause that is amenable to watchful waiting, or medication or surgery or any other type of intervention.
The following are common treatment for a few causes of abdominal or stomach pain.
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Acid Reflux........................................... Alcohol or stress Gastritis................... Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) infection gastritis......................................... Appendicitis....................................... Biliary colic........................................ Cholecystitis.................................... Constipation...................................... Diverticulitis.............................. Ectopic pregnancy - depending on severity and stage......................... Endometrosis............................... Fibroid .......................................... Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)......... Kidney Or Urine Infection .............. Trapped Wind.............................. |
Gaviscon, Losec Omeprazole, Rannitidine Amoxyl or clarithromycin Omeprazole and Metronidazole Surgical removal Pain killers Antibiotics, Surgery Movicol, Lactulose, Senna etc Antibiotics Observation, do nothing, methothrexate, or surgery depending on stage and severity Contraceptive pills, danazole, GnRH Angonist, Mirena IUS, Surgery Pain killers, Embolisation of the blood supply of the womb, myomectomy, hysterectomy Depending on type of dominant symptoms - pain, constipation or diarrhaea, painkillers, antispasmodics like buscopan or mebeverine, loperamide, atropine, high fiber or low fiber diet. Antibiotic like trimethoprim, augmentin, nitrofurantoin, cefalexin, Peppermint Oil Capsules, simple pain killers like paracetamol, mebeverine, buscopan. |
What is abdominal pain? That is an overview of what abdominal pain is and the journey you expect to go through, should you suffer with abdominal pain.
We hope you found this page useful in helping to define what is abdominal pain for you. It could also help as a starting point in initiating a discussion with your doctor, if you suspect that any of the issues discussed here might be what is causing your abdominal pain.
What Is Abdominal Pain For You - Have Your Say
Do you or your loved one surfer with abdominal pain? What is abdominal pain for you? Comments or queries? Share it here!
If you have a question regarding abdominal pain or any other medical question, to increase your chances of getting a reply, please include the following information:
- Age
- Any past medical problem
- Detailed description of the site of your pain, exactly when it started, how it has progressed so far, what seems to make the pain worse or better, if any associated nausea, vomiting or change in bowel habit, any weight loss, etc
- Any other information that might be useful as stated above under the 'What Is Abdominal Pain Story' heading.
The more detail you give the better please.
Feel free to contribute answers or comments to queries posted by others here and let's create a helpful community to minimize the effect of abdominal pain and related illnesses.
What Other Visitors Have Said Regarding What Is Abdominal Pain For Them
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
left sided sharp stabbing pain, mid abdomen 
I am a 65 year old post menopausal female. I have had this strange stabbing pain, on the left side of my abdomen.. It lasts 5-10 seconds and then goes …
Stomach pain and back pain
Hi ,I am 26 years old girl. I have abdominal pain mostly left side of my stomach. I have mensuration before 7 days and during that period I have pain …
diahrreah attack coming on but could not go
I am 35 years old.
Medical Problems In The Past - Myomectomy (failed & left ovary sucked into incision), emergency hysterectomy w/ left oopherectomy, …
Very mild pain on left side of abdomen
I have been having a slight uncomfortable feeling (I wouldn't term it as pain though) on the left hand portion of my stomach (between the belly and the …
severe stomach pain
I have had severe stomach pain for over a year, from last year may up to
now.Iam experiencing the pain on my whole upper abdomen layer, just after the …
sudden upper abdomen pain Not rated yet
43 years;lap nissen repair more than 10 years ago. a follow up made a year ago; no problems identified.currently on ecotrin medication for thrombosis …
Only dull pain in the lower right abdomen Not rated yet
I have been experiencing a very dull pain in the lower right abdomen for a few days now but I also want to specify that i have no other symptoms such as …
Lower Right Abdominal Pain Not rated yet
I have been having lower pain on the right side that is almost constantly present. At times it escalates in sharp almost twisting pain that is felt in …
Right side belly button pain Not rated yet
Hello I'm 20 years of age and I have been experiencing a sharp pain on the right side of my belly button about 2 inches beside it in my stomach and the …
pain on right side Not rated yet
I had this two months ago and its back,pain starts on right side then on right side of my leg,had a ct and colonoscopy all they found was non-bleeding …
abdominal pain since 45 minutes Not rated yet
I was very hungry.
It started to hurt at half way my supper.
My stool is green and skinny, long as 15-20cm.
I'm 24, low blood pressure since at least …
Lower left side/back pain, started on right side a week ago Not rated yet
Female 55 yrs old. Low right side started hurting a week ago, then moved to the full back, eased some then this morning started hurting in low left side …
Upper right side dull pain halfway between middle chest and side Not rated yet
About a year and a half my liver enzymes came back a bit high so was told to have an ultrasound. They found what they called a fatty liver and I was to …
tightness around belllybutton and a feeling of fullness Not rated yet
I had a panic attack last may according to the ambulance medics and the first Dr. who saw me in the hospital .They tested my blood did xrays and sonogram. …
Pain in the lower right abdoman Not rated yet
i am having sluggish liver problem for many years. My treatment is going on for this sluggish liver at present with herbal medicine.Due to this sluggish …
Pain on the lower right side Not rated yet
I had a bad pain on my lower right abdomen for about 7yrs before i was diagnosed with appendicitis. i would have a very bad pain any time i stood for long. …
abdominal pain on my right side near my belly button Not rated yet
I have had abdominal pain on my right side near my belly button for over a year
I have had my gallbladder removed 18 months ago
I had an endoscopy …
suggest any specific test to be done. Not rated yet
hi im having left abdominal pain and bloating for more than 3months. im 33 yr old and have taken CT scan endoscopy. stools color is in yellow normal. taking …
Pains in abdominal area Not rated yet
Well I have had vaginal discharge for a while now, it is white and smelly.
I thought it might be a yeast infection, so I took medicine that helps yeast …
left side pain for 2 weeks Not rated yet
have had pain on my left side of my torso for about two weeks. sometimes more some than other times. sometimes severe when putting on boots or reaching …
hernias Not rated yet
I,m a 61yr old female who has had 4 Hernia surgery. I,m having Very bad pains in my right side of belly. It hurts all the time even when trying to walk! …
a year later and still have pain Not rated yet
They found precancer cells on my cervix when i was pregnant. after i had my son they did a biopsy. A few days later started having pain on my right side. …
Lower right abdominal pain Not rated yet
I am 64 yrs old and for the last 2 yrs off and on have lower right pain four fingers over from the pubic bone also have been fighting a bladder issue that …
Pain on right side of abdomen Not rated yet
Re: Pain on right side of abdomen, pelvis area - always worse when bending down, sweeping up etc
Hi
I have had pain in my right side of abdomen, …
lower left abdominal discomfort Not rated yet
A week and a half to two weeks ago I performed an exercise on my stomach where I arched my back to perform a back exercise. I then noticed a day or two …
lower left abdominal pain Not rated yet
I am 18 years old and have not had a period in a year and a half.
Because of this I went to a Doctor and he believes he could start back my periods …
pain lower left below belly button above leg join SHARP Not rated yet
60 yrs. old, H.B.P., type 2 D.,pain started a week ago and is lower left of the belly button just above leg joint. Sharp pain is about a 10 on a scale …
lower and upper stomach pain 2 days ago Not rated yet
i am 35 year old,had liver problems. back left pain,lower and upper stomach pain 2 days ago.
Hello Gary,
Thanks for contacting us. More detailed …
Lower left abdominal pain frequent when ill with flu like symptoms Not rated yet
Male 32 years of age.. Lower left abdominal pain frequent when ill with flu like symptoms. Had stomach ulcers since my early 20's
I have been having …
muscle pain Not rated yet
i m a woman waitress and right now i am suffering of abdominal pain or muscle pain on my right side of my stomach. this was started 6days ago. i was admmited …
Severe Upper Colon pain for the last 8 weeks Not rated yet
Hi I am a 34 year old male with no Medical Issues in the past besides this one. I am currently not taking anymore medication for the problem.
Maybe …
upper right abdominal pains Not rated yet
I have upper right abdominal pains which started after l experienced seizure like attacks.It comes in a sharp piercing pain from my back radiating to the …
Nagging right side pain Not rated yet
Hi I'm a 52 yr old lady have had niggling pain comes and goes right side around belly button tummy feels bloated have had it now for almost a month. Saw …
aches in my lower right side below my ribs Not rated yet
Can anyone help me and give me opinions....
Hello my name is Kristin and I will be 26 yrs next month. A few days ago when I went number 2, I saw that …
Abdominal pain Not rated yet
I have left side abdominal pain that at times radiates around to the front and back just under the rib cage. It is a pian that is there most of the time …
Abdominal pain..slightly on the left side Not rated yet
I am a 33 y/o female that has started having abd pains about two inches above my belly button and about an inch to the left. I have been getting sharp …
Last Updated: 10 October 2014.
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