How to Know If Your Stomach Pain Is an Emergency (2023)

FAQs

How do I know if I need to go to the ER for stomach pain? ›

If the pain is sudden, severe or does not ease within 30 minutes, seek emergency medical care. Sudden abdominal pain is often an indicator of serious intra-abdominal disease, such as a perforated ulcer or a ruptured abdominal aneurysm, although it could also result from a benign disease, such as gallstones.

Call your doctor if you have abdominal pain that lasts 1 week or longer, if your pain doesn't improve in 24 to 48 hours, if bloating lasts more than 2 days, or if you have diarrhea for more than 5 days. There are three body views (front, back, and side) that can help you to identify a specific body area.

The first signs of gastrointestinal issues often include one or more of these symptoms: Nausea and/or vomiting. Pain in the abdominal area. Diarrhea.

Red flags that raise suspicion of serious pathology

Confusion/impaired consciousness. Signs of shock. Systemically unwell/septic-looking. Signs of dehydration.

So if you're having severe pain we'll give you a pain medication. If you're having nausea we'll treat that. Often times we're giving fluid for dehydration, especially if a person has been vomiting a lot, "I've had a lot of diarrhea." And then I'm thinking about testing.

Call the doctor right away if your stomach pain is so severe that you can't move or if you have any of the following symptoms: Blood in stools. Chills. Fever.

These stomachaches are usually tolerable and go away after a few minutes or hours. But if the pain persists for more than six hours, gets worse, or is accompanied by vomiting or high fever, it may be time to head to your doctor or emergency care.

The stages of appendicitis can be divided into early, suppurative, gangrenous, perforated, phlegmonous, spontaneous resolving, recurrent, and chronic.

Signs or symptoms of gas or gas pains include: Burping. Passing gas. Pain, cramps or a knotted feeling in your abdomen.

If you have a gastrointestinal or bowel perforation, you may experience: Abdominal pain or cramping, which is usually severe. Bloating or a swollen abdomen. Fever or chills.

What is stomach distress like? ›

They often experience feeling full soon after starting a meal or an uncomfortable fullness after a meal, discomfort or burning in their stomach and bloating. Indigestion can be triggered by medication, different foods and drinks.

There are four types of abdominal pain: upper, lower, right-sided and left-sided. Each type has specific symptoms and causes, and all are briefly discussed below (for detailed discussion).

A stomach ache is cramps or a dull ache in the tummy (abdomen). It usually does not last long and is often not serious. Severe abdominal pain is a greater cause for concern. Complete our self-help guide to check your symptoms and find out what to do next.

Take care not to scald yourself. Drink plenty of clear fluids such as water. Reduce your intake of coffee, tea and alcohol as these can make the pain worse.

Though gas pain is usually nothing serious, the discomfort can be intense. Intestinal gas and its discomfort are likely to resolve on their own. Burping or passing gas through the rectum (flatulence) is usually enough to ease your physical discomfort.

There are three main types of abdominal pain: visceral, parietal, and referred pain.

Trapped gas can feel like a stabbing pain in your chest or abdomen. The pain can be sharp enough to send you to the emergency room, thinking it's a heart attack, or appendicitis, or your gallbladder. Producing and passing gas is a normal part of your digestion.

Most stomach aches are not anything serious and will go away after a few days.

A person who has an upset stomach may find it difficult to eat anything at all. However, they must drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. Bland foods without strong tastes or odors may help satisfy hunger without further upsetting the stomach.

How can I sleep with stomach pain? ›

The best overall position to aid digestion is on your left side. This position uses gravity to help waste make its way through the digestive tract. Left side sleeping can also reduce heartburn because this keeps stomach acid lower in the esophagus. The next best position is on your back with your head elevated.

Call 999 to ask for an ambulance if you have pain that suddenly gets worse and spreads across your abdomen, or if your pain temporarily improves before getting worse again. If your pain eases for a while but then gets worse, your appendix may have burst, which can lead to life-threatening complications.

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. Seek immediate medical help if pain is accompanied by other worrisome signs and symptoms, including: Severe pain. Fever.

A: Appendicitis symptoms may last between 36 to 72 hours before the appendix ruptures. Appendicitis symptoms develop quickly from onset of the condition. Early symptoms include pain near the belly button, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, and a low fever.

The appendix can get infected. If not treated it can burst (rupture). This can happen as soon as 48 to 72 hours after you have symptoms. Because of this, appendicitis is a medical emergency.

“Gas pains can feel like a stretching sensation and sometimes people get sharp pains,” Dr. Singh said.

Pain from gas can feel like knots in your stomach. You may even have the sensation that gas is moving through your intestines. Unlike appendicitis, which tends to cause pain localized on the lower right side of the abdomen, gas pain can be felt anywhere in your abdomen. You may even feel the pain up in your chest.

Would it hurt if your stomach burst? ›

Symptoms of gastrointestinal perforation include abdominal pain, vomiting, and running a fever.

The stomach has the ability to stretch and hold up to 4 pounds of food at one time 😱 | By Austin Gastroenterology | Facebook.

Pathologists' reports seem to suggest the stomach is able to do OK handling up to about three liters, but most cases of rupture seem to occur when a person has attempted to stuff their stomach with about five liters of food or fluid.

Generalized pain -- This means that you feel it in more than half of your belly. This type of pain is more typical for a stomach virus, indigestion, or gas. If the pain becomes more severe, it may be caused by a blockage of the intestines. Localized pain -- This is pain found in only one area of your belly.

While trapped gas may cause discomfort, it usually passes on its own after a few hours. Some people may be able to relieve pain due to trapped gas using natural remedies, certain body positions, or OTC medications. Avoiding known trigger foods or drinks can help prevent trapped gas from occurring.

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Stomach cancer can present itself in several different ways, such as difficulty swallowing, feeling bloated after eating, feeling full after only eating a small amount of food, heartburn, indigestion, nausea, stomach pain, unintentional weight loss, and vomiting.

Over-the-Counter Medications

For cramping from diarrhea, medicines that have loperamide (Imodium) or bismuth subsalicylate (Kaopectate or Pepto-Bismol) might make you feel better. For other types of pain, acetaminophen (Aspirin Free Anacin, Liquiprin, Panadol, Tylenol) might be helpful.

What does intestinal cramping feel like? ›

Colon spasms can feel like your body is working against you. The muscle contractions are involuntary, often painful and disruptive to healthy bowel activity. Relief lies in getting back on the same page with your gut so that you can address its concerns while helping to calm it down.

Gas in the intestine causes pain for some people. When it collects on the left side of the colon, the pain can be confused with heart disease. When it collects on the right side of the colon, the pain may feel like the pain associated with gallstones or appendicitis.

Your provider will do a physical exam. If you have appendicitis, your pain will increase when your lower right belly area is pressed. If your appendix has ruptured, touching the belly area may cause a lot of pain and lead you to tighten your muscles. A rectal exam may find tenderness on the right side of your rectum.

Although rebound tenderness is a widely used examination, it is uncomfortable and may be inaccurate. To perform the pinch-an-inch test, a fold of abdominal skin over McBurney's point is grasped and elevated away from the peritoneum. The skin is allowed to recoil back briskly against the peritoneum.