Abdominal Pain

Abdominal pain is the pain that you feel anywhere between your chest and groin. Other terms used to describe abdominal pain are stomach ache, tummy ache, gut ache and bellyache. Abdominal pain can be mild or severe. It may be constant or come and go. Abdominal pain can be acute or chronic. 

Causes–

Many different conditions can cause abdominal pain. Some causes of abdominal pain are:-

Less serious causes of abdominal pain include:

• Constipation
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Food allergies or intolerance (such as lactose intolerance)
• Food poisoning
• Stomach flu

Other possible causes include:

• Appendicitis
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm (bulging and weakening of the major artery in the body)
• Bowel blockage or obstruction
• Cancer of the stomach, colon (large bowel), and other organs
• Cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder) with or without gallstones
• Decreased blood supply to the intestines (ischemic bowel)
• Diverticulitis (inflammation and infection of the colon)
• Endometriosis
• Heartburn, indigestion, or gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)
• Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn disease or ulcerative colitis)
• Kidney stones
• Muscle strain
• Pancreatitis (swelling or infection of the pancreas)
• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
• Ruptured ovarian cyst
• Severe menstrual cramps
• Tubal (ectopic) pregnancy
• Ulcers
• Urinary tract infections (UTI)

Types of abdominal pain–

1. Parietal pain- arises from the abdominal wall, peritoneum or surface of solid organs. Steady and aching in character and is located over the inflamed area. 
2. Visceral pain- arises from lesions of solid organs. Dull, poorly localized pain. 
3. Colicky pain- it is the intermittent pain due to obstruction of a hollow viscus. 
4. Referred pain- it is the pain felt in areas remote from the diseased organs.