Abdominal pain is a common complaint.
Everyone experiences abdominal pain from time to time.
Abdominal pain can be mild or severe. It may be continuous or come and go.
Abdominal pain can be short-lived (acute) or occur over weeks, months or years (chronic).
Call your doctor right away if you have abdominal pain so severe that you can't move without causing more pain, or you can't sit still or find a comfortable position.
Causes
Abdominal pain has many potential causes.
The most common causes — such as gas pains, indigestion or a pulled muscle — usually aren't serious. Other conditions may require more-urgent medical attention.
Acute
The various conditions that cause acute abdominal pain are usually accompanied by other symptoms and develop over hours to days.
These symptoms or conditions are:
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Appendicitis
- Cholecystitis
- Cystitis
- Diverticulitis
- Heart attack
- Injury
- Intestinal obstruction
- Kidney infection
- Kidney stones
- Liver abscess
- Mesenteric ischemia
- Mesenteric thrombosis
- Pancreatitis
- Pericarditis
- Peritonitis
- Pneumonia
- Spleen infection
- Urinary tract infection
- Viral gastroenteritis
Chronic
The specific cause of chronic abdominal pain is often difficult to determine. Symptoms may range from mild to severe, coming and going but not necessarily worsening over time.
Conditions that may cause chronic abdominal pain include:
- Angina
- Celiac disease
- Endometriosis
- Gallstones
- Gastritis
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Functional dyspepsia
- Ovarian cysts
- Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
- Sickle cell anemia
- Strained or pulled abdominal muscle
- Ulcerative colitis
Progressive
Abdominal pain that steadily worsens over time, often accompanied by the development of other symptoms, is usually serious.
Causes of progressive abdominal pain include:
- Cancer
- Crohn's disease
- Enlarged spleen (splenomegaly)
- Hepatitis
- Kidney cancer
- Liver cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Stomach cancer
- Uremia
When to see a doctor
Call emergency medical assistance and seek help if your abdominal pain is severe and is associated with:
- Trauma, such as an accident or injury
- Pressure or pain in your chest
Seek immediate medical attention
Have someone drive you to urgent care or the emergency room if you have:
- Severe pain
- Fever
- Bloody stools
- Persistent nausea and vomiting
- Weight loss
- Skin that appears yellow
- Swelling of the abdomen
Make an appointment with your doctor if your abdominal pain worries you or lasts more than a few days.
Source:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/abdominal-pain/basics/definition/sym-20050728
