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Abdominal pain can be acute and sudden in onset (parasitic infection,
food poisoning, etc.), or the pain can be chronic and long-standing (ulcers,
irritable bowel, etc.). Abdominal pain may be minor and of no great significance
(lactose intolerance, minor food allergies, etc.), or it can reflect a
major problem involving one of the organs in the abdomen (pancreatitis,
ecoptic pregnancy, etc.) or a more generalized, but still serious, problem
(porphyria, protein deficiency, etc.) The characteristics of the pain
- location, timing, duration, etc. are important in diagnosing its cause.
Persistent or recurring abdominal pain should ALWAYS be evaluated by a
medical professional.
This article makes the assumption that the reader is otherwise fairly
healthy, and will give a general overview of the various potential causes
of new or recent abdominal pain.
WHAT IS ABDOMINAL PAIN?
What most people think of as abdominal pain is usually the area below
the ribcage. While this may indicate a source IN that area, sometimes
the source pain is coming from organs located elsewhere, even though
it's felt in the abdominal area - in that type of situation, it's called
"referred pain". When it's "referred", it could
be coming from the lungs, the kidneys, the uterus or ovaries (for females,
especially of childbearing years), pancreas, or even a few other organs
as well. Sometimes systemic problems are felt first in the abdominal
area, especially if they're due to a digestive complaint such as Celiac
Syndrome or Divirticulitis.
WHAT CAUSES ABDOMINAL PAIN?
Frequent and/or usually self-limiting causes:
Psychosomatic causes (due to stress) may include:
Uncommon and/or potentially dangerous causes
may include:
- Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
- Abdominal Angina (Mesenteric Vascular / Ischemia)
- Abdominal Sepsis (severe infection; a risk of colitis flare-ups)
- Acute Intermittent Porphyria
- Appendicitis
- Bacterial causes (Cholera, Dysentery, etc.)
- Bowel obstruction
- Cancer (especially stomach or colon cancer)
- Candida / yeast infection
- Celiac Syndrome
- Chron's Disease
- Constipation / bowel obstruction
- Divirticulitis
- Endometriosis
- Gallbladder disease (Cholelithiasis)
- Gastroenteritis
- Hernia
- Iron Overload / Toxicity
- Irritable Bowel / Colitis
- Kidney stones
- Liver problems
- Lung (pulmonary) problems (sometimes is referred pain)
- Myocardial Infarction (a/k/a heart attack)
- Ovarian Cyst or cancer
- Pancreatitis, especially acute pancreatitis
- Parasitic - Giardia for example
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
- Pericarditis (inflammation around the heart)
- Peritonitis / Abdominal Abscess/Sepsis
- Porphyria
- Protein Deficiency
- Shingles
- Spleen issues
- Stomach/colon cancer
- Toxic Megacolon (very advanced colon infection; colitis risk)
- Ulcer (peptic, colon, stomach, etc.)
- Women: ecoptic pregnancy
HOW IS IT DIAGNOSED?
Doctors and other involved medical staff will need to know the recent
medical history, and any chronic history, pertaining to the abdominal
pain. Giving them as much information as you can pertaining to the pain
will enable them to be more accurate in their diagnosis. Even with all
that, diagnosis is often a challenge - above and beyond getting an inattentive
doctor - for a variety of reasons: The pain may not be typical for the
cause (may have more or less pain than expected, different type of pain
than expected, etc.), diseases that cause pain may have overlapping
symptoms with other diseases, and what the pain feels like may change
as time goes on.
Medical history information should include
the following:
- When it started
- How long it's been going on
- Whether it's a sudden or gradual onset
- Location, type (stabbing, aching, waves, constant, etc.), and severity
of pain
- Where the pain radiates to (e.g., to back, groin, shoulder)
- Aggravating or precipitating factors (e.g., food, position, medication)
- Relieving factors (i.e., lack of movement, more comfortable positions,
etc.)
- Prior similar episodes
- Ability - or inability - to pass stool or gas
- Any associated symptoms (bloating, etc.)
- Fever, chills, or sweating
- Urinary symptoms (too much, not enough, urgency, etc.)
- Lack of appetite, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
- Blood in the stool
- Whether there's any chest pain, and how it's felt
- Any surgical history
- NSAID use (can cause ulcers and internal bleeding, which can lead
to pain)
And also should include mention of any coexisting
known diseases such as:
- Diabetes (patients become more prone to developing other related
ailments)
- Cardiovascular disease (hypertension, coronary artery disease, blood
clots, etc.)
- Any previous abdominal injury
- Any history of abdominal problems
- Smoking history, if any
- Alcohol use
Physical exams and diagnostics will likely
include:
- Checking blood pressure (a drastically low blood pressure can narrow
down the causes, for example)
- Checking oxygen saturation (how well you're getting oxygen)
- General bloodwork (blood count, chemistry panel)
- Xrays, CT scan and/or MRI depending on your symptoms
- Colonoscopy if a bowel obstruction or other GI complaint is suspected
HOW IS IT TREATED?
As usual, treatment will depend on the cause. Some causes (like the
"frequent" list above) are typically self-limiting and don't
require much more than symptomatic care. Other causes may need more
diagnostics (to determine the problem), followed by extensive care or
even surgery.
Any extremely severe, acute and/or sudden onset abdominal pain ABSOLUTELY
warrants a trip to your local hospital emergency room to rule out critical
conditions such as appendicitis (which can be confused with food poisoning
symptoms).
See the links below for more details.
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH REAL VAMPIRES?
Abdominal pain is NOT a normal "sign" of real vampirism,
but it's common to see it mentioned in forums and e-mail lists. Everyone
should be aware that ANY abdominal pain is not normal, and should be
evaluated by a medical professional.
~SphynxCatVP, June 2010
This site contains articles on various medical
topics; however, no warranty whatsoever is made that any of the articles
are accurate - and even if a statement made about medical matters is
accurate, it may not apply to you or your symptoms. These
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Even though the authors may be capable of
doing extensive research, it must be understood that neither SphynxCatVP,
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guarantee that any statement contained or cited in an article touching
on medical matters is true, precise, or up-to-date.
At best, you can use the article to strike
up a conversation with your doctor or other medical professional ABOUT
your symptoms, and share any concerns you may have for them to investigate.
The medical information provided by this site is of a general nature
and CANNOT legally be considered a substitute for the advice of a medical
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