Pathological Belly Pain

Belly pain is an alarm signal sent by the body, a request for help to warn that some metabolic mechanism has gone haywire.

"satellites" (accompanying). While common abdominal pain is often self-healing, without necessarily intervening with drugs or medical treatments, the pathological form requires specific and more complex diagnostic tests, and pharmacological or surgical therapies.
When abdominal pain is subordinated to serious pathologies, such as appendicitis, the promptness of intervention (surgical, in this precise case) heavily affects the patient's prognosis, or rather the final outcome: an untreated appendicitis can generate peritonitis, up to death.

, urine and faeces, computed tomography, colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy *, abdominal ultrasound, abdominal radiography and barium enema **.

To understand...

* Sigmoidoscopy: diagnostic test aimed at visually exploring the anus, rectum and sigmoid colon using a flexible probe introduced through the anal orifice
** Barium enema: radiological test of the large intestine, favored by the rectal introduction of a contrast medium

and the patient feels "abnormal" abdominal pain. Thermal alteration is another symptom that always accompanies appendicitis: in particular, fever measured via the anal appears much higher than the temperature measured under the armpit. Appendicitis can also cause diarrhea, bloating and abdominal swelling.

KIDNEY STONES / Bladder stones: the abdominal pain, always ferocious, spastic and acute, is accentuated during urination, among other things hindered by the passage of any stones through the ureter. Abdominal pain is often accompanied by hematuria (blood in the urine), fever, hypotension, heavy sweating, nausea and vomiting.

CHOLECYSTITIS (inflammation of the gallbladder): the abdominal pain due to cholecystitis is confined to the upper right region of the abdomen and worsens with palpation (for this reason, differential diagnosis with appendicitis abdominal pain is required). it is, in this case, accompanied by fever, jaundice, loss of appetite, vomiting and sweating.

DIVERTICULITIS: abdominal pain is a constant in advanced forms of diverticulitis. Specifically, the abdominal pain is crampy and is accompanied by diarrheal discharge or constipation and fever. The differential diagnosis between abdominal pain due to diverticulitis and that dependent on appendicitis or cholecystitis is relatively simple, given that the pain - although intense and ferocious - is concentrated in the lower left abdominal quadrant.

HEART: Sometimes, a very particular stomach ache can anticipate a heart attack. Belly pain, in these cases, spreads even higher, causing stomach pain and chest pain. The heart attack can appear under different guises; therefore, those who are predisposed to it should respect all possible measures to prevent such a serious pathology.

INFECTIONS OF THE URINARY TRACT (eg cystitis): in such circumstances, pathological stomach pain embodies burning in the urinary tract accompanied by difficulty in expelling urine. More than a characteristic symptom, in this case, stomach pain is a reflex to the urinary stimulus, hindered by the infection in progress. Targeted antibiotic therapy is necessary to effectively ward off infection and related symptoms.

INFLAMMATORY INTESTINAL DISEASES (Crohn's disease, ulcerative rectal colitis, ischemic colitis, etc.): stomach pain is rather generalized, and often also involves the stomach. Inflammatory bowel diseases associate abdominal pain with secondary symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, bloody stools, rectal tenesmus, loss of appetite and mucorrhea (presence of mucus in the stool). The stomach ache dependent on these pathologies is a vague and generic symptom, difficult to associate (at least immediately) to a specific disease.

INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION: Abdominal pain caused by intestinal blockage, which typically becomes even more pronounced on palpation, is accompanied by other secondary symptoms, such as fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps and profuse abdominal pain. This form of pathological abdominal pain requires prompt medical intervention to avoid necrosis (death) of intestinal tissues, which can perforate and undergo peritonitis.

PANCREATITIS (inflammation of the pancreas): more than with abdominal pain, pancreatitis begins with violent abdominal pain, at the site where the pancreatic gland is located. However, abdominal pain does not remain localized in the stomach, rather it tends to extend further down (in the belly area) and down the back. Abdominal pain tends to worsen after meals and with deep breaths.

IRRITABLE COLON SYNDROME: stomach ache assumes a typically cramp-like connotation and is accompanied by symptoms such as aerophagia, meteorism, flatulence, hard stools, mucorrhea and rectal tenesmus.

Colorectal CANCER, pancreatic cancer, liver neoplasia, etc .: tumors-dependent tummy pain does not usually manifest itself in an acute form and the pain is not particularly aggressive. Tumors are infamous and terrible pathologies, which do not always manifest their symptoms, especially at an early stage. The "oncological" stomach ache - which (we specify) can appear or not - is a generalized, chronic pain, which can be intermittent or constant, and hardly leads immediately to a cancer in progress. The therapy must be aimed at eliminating the tumor mass: in the case of a positive prognosis, the stomach ache disappears completely.

Gastritis can also cause abdominal pain: in this case, however, rather than stomach pain, it would be appropriate to talk about stomach pain, since gastritis is an "inflammation of the gastric mucosa.

, x-rays, stool and urine analysis, etc.).

A single episode of abdominal pain, as well as abdominal pain that punctually begins near the menstrual cycle or after a particularly large meal, should not cause alarm and should be interpreted as a passing and completely reversible phenomenon.

Considering that stomach ache is a multi-faceted disorder, here are some general examples, useful for directing the patient towards an initial and approximate diagnosis. We underline, however, that the doctor's opinion is in any case essential.

• Case 1: stomach ache is generalized (it is not possible to identify the precise point from which it originates), flanked by diarrhea and vomiting → typical pain due to gastro-intestinal viral infections, indigestion or consumption of deteriorated food
• Case 2: the abdominal pain is spastic / crampy and the patient accuses constipation and abdominal distension → typical stomach pain due to intestinal obstruction
• Case 3: the stomach ache is bearable, but accompanied by flatulence, meteorism and / or diarrhea → probably, the origin of the stomach ache depends on a particularly abundant meal or on the introduction of foods towards which one is intolerant
• Case 4: The abdominal pain is severe and can be easily localized in a specific area of ​​the abdomen → the abdominal pain can be an indicator of appendicitis, gallbladder stones or cholecystitis
• Case 5: stomach pain occurs during the cycle and is effectively relieved by taking analgesic-painkilling drugs or natural remedies → stomach pain is a typical symptom of dysmenorrhea
• Case 6: the abdominal pain is intermittent and accompanied by colic. It appears suddenly, and then progressively regresses → the stomach ache depends on renal or biliary colic

Other articles on "Pathological Belly Pain"

1. Bellyache
2. Belly Pain - What To Do