Abdominal pain is one of the most problematic symptoms to pinpoint. The reasons for abdominal pain as stated below range from fairly minor illnesses to severe emergencies.
When to Phone the Emergency Services for Abdominal Pain
It’s essential to phone for an ambulance when particular signs and symptoms accompany abdominal pain, irrespective of the cause. If a casualty, suffering from abdominal pain, is also facing any of the following, phone for an ambulance immediately:
- Unexpected, severe abdominal pain
It’s essential to phone for an ambulance when particular signs and symptoms accompany abdominal pain, irrespective of the cause - Spewing blood
- Diarrhea (including bloody diarrhea)
- Shoulder, chest or neck pain
- Stiff and tender stomach
- Unable to have a bowel movement, particularly with nausea
- Sharp pain of the shoulder blades
- Faintness
- Paleness
- Clammy skin and excessive sweating
- Confused
What Causes Abdominal Pain
There are many causes for abdominal pain. Following is a list of some of the more severe causes. This is not a full list, as there are many other causes, but these are some of the more serious causes that require immediate medical attention.
- Abdominal aneurysm
- Appendicitis
- Pregnancy
- Poisoning caused by food
- Gallstones
- Heart attack
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Kidney stones
- Kidney failure
- Abnormal bowel
- Ulcer causing internal bleeding
- Crohn’s disease
When Should You Be Concerned About Abdominal Pain?
It’s better to get checked out by a physician for nothing than to hang about at home with something more severe.
The position of the pain is significant, but the nature of the pain itself is even more so. Here are a few things that make abdominal pain more worrying:
Severity: An ache that wakes you up while you sleeping or occurs unexpectedly through the day should be checked out.
Perseverance: Pain that perseveres or continues for more than 10 minutes is more worrying than an irregular, short pain.
Tenderness: Doctors use the expression “tenderness” to imply the pain that results when the body part is pushed on. From a casualty’s point of view, tenderness is when any action makes the pain even worse.
Loss of hunger: When a severe problem occurs in the abdomen, the body shuts down the absorption process. Everything stops moving through the digestive system and the casualty feels nauseous and doesn’t want to eat. It’s unusual though for someone with appendicitis, for instance, to want to eat anything.
Queasiness: The severity of a problematic digestive system occurs with vomiting, which is why nausea can sometimes be a cause for alarm.
Bowel movements with blood: Painless bleeding is not as huge concern, as it’s typically caused from hemorrhoids. But bleeding together with abdominal pain is a definite concern.
Related Video On Abdominal Pain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKg33Eyur3k