It normally travels to the lower right of the abdomen where it is felt as a sharp pain. Other symptoms of appendicitis include a loss of appetite , nausea , vomiting , fever and chills. If left untreated the appendix can become swollen and infected and then it may burst.
Urgent surgery is usually the treatment required for appendicitis. Bowel obstruction can be partial or complete. Most bowel obstructions are in the small bowel, the section between your stomach and your large intestine. Bowel obstructions cause bloating and abdominal pain.
The pain may be cramping or colicky, so it starts suddenly and comes and goes in waves. If the blockage is only partial, you may have diarrhoea. You may also feel sick nausea and have lost your appetite. If gallstones block a bile duct they can cause pain known as biliary colic. Biliary colic pain is felt on the upper right side of the abdomen, under the ribs.
The pain is often severe and comes in waves that usually last between 30 minutes and 2 hours. It is often accompanied by nausea. You may need to have your gallbladder removed surgically. This operation is called a cholecystectomy and is often done using keyhole surgery laparoscopic surgery.
Many small kidney stones are passed to the bladder without any problems. But large kidney stones may become stuck in the ureter, causing a blockage that stops the flow of urine out of the kidney. This can cause a sudden pain called renal colic, which starts as a gripping pain in your back, just below your ribs.
The pain may move around to your abdomen at the front of your body, or to your groin. The pain may come and go in waves. You may also have fever or shivers, an urge to urinate, or blood in your urine. Kidney stones are more common in older people. An aneurysm is an abnormal enlarged area in a blood vessel, where the walls of the blood vessel have become weak and allowed it to bulge out. If the aneurysm ruptures it causes sudden, severe and persistent abdominal or back pain.
This is a life-threatening emergency. These aneurysms happen mostly in older people. In addition to chest and arm pain radiating to the jaw or back, heart attacks can also cause indigestion, nausea and abdominal pain.
Women, especially, may experience these other symptoms. Severe abdominal pain in pregnancy could be due to one of the causes above, or it could be connected to your pregnancy, as with the following:. Long-term abdominal pain may be present all the time or it may come and go. Pain that has been present for 3 months or more and that comes and goes in episodes is known as recurrent pain. It may worsen over time or stay the same in intensity. Acid reflux gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, or GORD causes discomfort and pain in the upper abdomen, commonly known as heartburn.
Other symptoms include belching, sore throat and bad breath. Symptoms may flare up after eating certain foods or large meals. Hiatus hernia — where part of the stomach protrudes from the abdomen into the chest — can lead to symptoms of GORD.
Irritable bowel syndrome IBS causes cramping abdominal pain, bloating and episodes of constipation or diarrhoea.
The cramping pain is often relieved by passing wind or going to the toilet. By contrast, labor contractions get progressively more intense. Signs that a woman is in labor include:. Call a doctor or midwife at any signs of labor, especially if the pregnancy has not reached full term. Many causes of intermittent stomach pain, such as ovulation pain, do not require treatment.
Others, such as food sensitivities, are not medical emergencies. It can be difficult to decide when to see a doctor and when to wait, so it is important to pay attention to any additional symptoms. Seek medical care for severe pain or pain that gets worse with time. Sharp, intermittent stomach pain is difficult to ignore, especially when it occurs with other symptoms. Although many causes of this pain are not harmful, others can lead to severe complications.
If a person is unsure about their stomach pain, it is best to speak with a doctor. It is almost impossible to diagnose the cause of stomach pain based on symptoms alone. About 1 in every ten people in Western countries will develop a stomach ulcer at some point. Ulcers are typically caused by bacteria or as a side…. People with a food intolerance have difficulty digesting certain foods. Find out how food intolerances differ from food allergies, what causes them…. A look at natural remedies to get rid of gallstones, a common complaint that causes pain in the gallbladder.
Included is detail on when to see a…. Menstrual cramps are a common symptom of periods. They may cause mild discomfort in some people but severe pain in others. Learn about a variety of…. What causes sharp stomach pain that comes and goes? Medically reviewed by Saurabh Sethi, M. Causes Seeing a doctor Summary We include products we think are useful for our readers. Share on Pinterest Gas is a common problem that usually subsides by itself. Share on Pinterest A person who regularly experiences sharp stomach pain after eating may have a digestive disorder.
Share on Pinterest Sharp stomach pains in late pregnancy may indicate that labor is starting. When to see a doctor. Latest news Scientists identify new cause of vascular injury in type 2 diabetes. Adolescent depression: Could school screening help? 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 it may be that the cause becomes more obvious with time. Go straight to your doctor or the emergency department of the nearest hospital if you have any of:.
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 pneumonias, 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. Eating too quickly, indulging in alcohol and fatty foods, and eating while you feel anxiety can all cause indigestion. Gas, which is air trapped in your digestive tract, is the result of your body digesting food.
Sometimes gas and indigestion can cause sharp pains in your upper abdomen or lower intestine. Indigestion and gas pain can be treated with over-the-counter antacids. You can shop for antacids online. A peptic ulcer is a sore in the lining of your stomach. It can be caused by long-term use of ibuprofen or by an infection of Helicobacter pylori bacteria. Peptic ulcers cause a dull, burning abdominal pain. Peptic ulcers are typically treated with proton pump inhibitors or antibiotics, depending on their cause.
Unless you have food allergies that put you at risk for anaphylaxis , abdominal pain from food allergies or sensitivities is not an emergency.
If you have a lactose allergy , speak to your healthcare provider about replacement enzyme pills that may allow you to consume dairy without discomfort. Between 1 and 2 percent of pregnancies are ectopic pregnancies , according to a review published in the BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health journal. An egg that implants in the fallopian tube instead of the uterus cannot sustain a pregnancy to full-term. If not addressed, this kind of pregnancy could be life-threatening.
Strong pain in the lower abdomen, as well as some vaginal bleeding, could indicate an ectopic pregnancy. Fertility drugs and smoking increase the risk for this kind of pregnancy. Diarrhea and vomiting also sometimes occur.
Ectopic pregnancies need to be treated with medication and surgery to save the fallopian tubes and preserve fertility. The symptoms of this condition are similar to those of a normal pregnancy in its earliest phases.
Food poisoning happens when bacteria in the food you eat infects your digestive tract and causes diarrhea, nausea, and sharp stomach pain.
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