How Do Doctors Find The Cause Of A Bellyache
Your doctor will first ask you some questions, examine you, and maybe do some tests. Your doctor may suggest you take some medicine or might give you special instructions for eating to help your body heal the bellyache.
If it turns out that you have appendicitis, you will need an operation called an appendectomy .
If stress is behind your stomach problems, your doctor may recommend a specialist, such as a psychologist. These experts can help kids figure out the source of the stress and help them come up with some ideas for how to fix the problems or handle them better.
Eat Foods High In Fiber To Prevent Stomach Pain
Based on science, insoluble fibers are the best foods that prevent constipation.
Actually, Soluble fiber absorbs water and adds bulk to your stool. In addition, foods high in fiber may prevent stomach disorders including ulcers, reflux, haemorrhoids, diverticulitis, and IBS.
Furthermore, foods rich in fiber help reduce the risk of inflammatory bowel conditions.
They also provide food for gut bacteria. The gut bacteria help to breakdown soluble fiber since the body cannot digest it without the bacteria.
However, gut bacteria has no side effect rather a symbiotic relationship with human.
Here are natural foods that are rich in fiber to prevent stomach pain
- oat bran
- fruits like apricots and oranges, Brussels sprouts, and apple
- legumes
Tips For Avoiding Keto Stomach Pain
Not all dieters experience stomach pain on keto. The same is true of keto flu. But, if you are one of the unlucky few, here are some tips and tricks for avoiding keto stomach pain.
1. Drink more water
Dehydration is very common on keto. In fact, a large majority of the symptoms of keto flu are directly attributable to dehydration. Avoid headaches, cramps, and keto stomach pain by drinking plenty of plain water.
How much you should drink is up for debate, but most experts agree that people should drink at least 64 fluid ounces of water per day, which is eight 8-ounce glasses. Drink 1-2 glasses on waking, and then another glass every couple of hours to hit your hydration target.
2. Ditch the diet soda
Leading on from point #1, your body needs water and not diet soda. Diet sodas, and many other keto-friendly snacks and foods, contain artificial sweeteners that may cause stomach pain. The occasional Diet Coke wont do you any harm, but drinking several per day could be part of the reason you have keto stomach pain.
3. Use electrolytes
Electrolytes are minerals, such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium. If you are dehydrated, you are usually low in electrolytes too. Low levels of electrolytes can cause muscle cramps, including the smooth muscular tubes that make up your digestive system.
4. Eat more fiber
Make sure you eat lots of low-carb vegetables to ensure youre getting the fiber you need to keep your digestive system healthy.
Don’t Miss: What Helps Severe Stomach Pain
Gas Pain: When To See A Doctor
Veloso says to be on the lookout for abdominal pain and bloating that persists even after constipation improves.
You may have celiac disease or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth , which can cause these symptoms and can occur with either constipation or diarrhea. You may also have irritable bowel syndrome or another problem, she notes.
What Is A Stomach Ulcer
A stomach ulcer that is also called a gastric ulcer is a condition in which the tissue lining of the stomach breaks.
The common cause involves infections and intake of anti-inflammatory medications. It is a type of peptic ulcer disease. These ulcers affect both the stomach and small intestine.
Basically, the thick layer of mucus becomes thin, which protects the stomach from digestive juices. As a result, the digestive acids eat away the tissue lining of the stomach and cause stomach ulcers.
Experts believe that ispaghol improves the function of the digestive system and prevents many stomach issues.
If you do not get proper treatment, it may get severe over time.
Also Check: Can You Get Stomach Cancer From Smoking
Causes Of Recurrent Stomach Pains
- Stress or Worries. The most common cause of frequent stomach pains is stress. Over 10% of children have a “worried stomach.” These children tend to be sensitive and too serious. They often are model children. This can make them more at risk to the normal stresses of life. Examples of these events are changing schools, moving or family fights. The pain is in the pit of the stomach or near the belly button. The pain is real.
- Abdominal Migraine. Attacks of stomach pain and vomiting with sudden onset and offset. Often occur in children who later develop migraine headaches. Strongly genetic.
- Functional Abdominal Pains. Functional means the stomach pains are due to a sensitive GI tract. The GI tract is free of any disease.
- School Avoidance. Stomach pains that mainly occur in the morning on school days. They keep the child from going to school.
How To Avoid Stomach Pain And Growling
You do not need to have a sensitive stomach for it to growl loudly in between meals. Occasional stomach noises are a result of the digestive system processing food and liquids.
The phenomenon is called borborygmi and could also be brought on by hunger.
In this case, hunger hormones trigger contractions in the gastrointestinal system, and as you do not have any food for the sound to bounce back on, you will inevitably hear the heavy growls.
When hunger is not the cause of borborygmi, it could be indigestion, incomplete digestion, or slow digestion.
Regardless, it is typically NOT a sign of poor gastrointestinal health.
If the stomach pain and growling are especially bothersome to you, we know of a few ways that can help attenuate those:
Don’t Miss: What Kind Of Mattress Is Best For Stomach Sleepers
How Is Constipation Treated
Self-care
Most cases of mild to moderate constipation can be managed by you at home. Self-care starts by taking an inventory of what you eat and drink and then making changes.
Some recommendations to help relieve your constipation include:
- Drink two to four extra glasses of water a day. Avoid caffeine-containing drinks and alcohol, which can cause dehydration.
- Add fruits, vegetables whole grains and other high-fiber foods to your diet. Eat fewer high-fat foods, like meat, eggs and cheese.
- Eat prunes and/or bran cereal.
- Keep a food diary and single out foods that constipate you.
- Get moving, exercise.
- Check how you sit on the toilet. Raising your feet, leaning back or squatting may make having a bowel movement easier.
- Add an over-the-counter supplemental fiber to your diet .
- If needed, take a very mild over-the-counter stool softener or laxative . Mineral oil enemas, like Fleet®, and stimulant laxatives, like bisacodyl or senna , are other options. There are many laxative choices. Ask your pharmacist or doctor for help in making a choice. Do not use laxatives for more than two weeks without calling your doctor. Overuse of laxatives can worsen your symptoms.
- Do not read, use your phone or other devices while trying to move your bowels.
Medication/supplement review
When To Contact A Clinician
Persistent or severe abdominal pain, especially if unrelieved by vomiting or passing a bowel movement
Fever greater than 101 degrees F, not relieved by acetaminophen, or any fever that lasts more than three days
Vomiting or diarrhea without any improvement for more 24 hours
Blood in vomit or stools
No urination for more than 8 hours, or painful urination
Read Also: What To Give Toddler With Stomach Bug
Q: So How Do I Know If I Am Constipated Whats Normal
A: While the nursery school book Everyone Poops still rings true, how often they do so is another story.
Theres no real normal. Men are different from women. Age changes things. Pregnancy changes things, adds Dr. Zutshi. As long as you have a bowel movement that occurs regularly not too few in a week and has a regular consistency, youre fine.
But whats not too few, you ask? Constipation is defined as lessthan three in a week. Uh-oh. So now what?
Is The Brat Diet Safe
Following the BRAT diet for a limited time is unlikely to cause significant harm, but people should avoid using the diet in the long term.
Prolonged use of the BRAT diet may lead to malnutrition and low energy because it contains too few calories and not enough of the following vital nutrients:
- protein
- herbal teas, especially ginger and peppermint
- coconut water
You May Like: Can I Take Milk Of Magnesia On An Empty Stomach
How To Handle Your Upset Stomach
An upset stomach does not require medical attention in most cases. Pain or discomfort from an upset stomach is typically acute and will go away on its own, or with home treatment. However, its important to realize that many different things can cause an upset stomach or stomach pain. Be aware of these causes, find out how to treat an upset stomach, and learn when to speak to a medical professional.
What Food Makes Your Stomach Feel Better
The 12 Best Foods for an Upset Stomach
You May Like: Do Stomach Wraps Burn Fat
What Is Causing My Abdominal Pain
Abdominal pain is pain that you feel anywhere between your chest and pelvic region and can range from a minor problem to one needing urgent attention. Dr. Indran Indrakrishnan at Gwinnett Digestive Clinic in Lawrenceville, GA, offers the latest treatments for gastrointestinal conditions.
You Might Also Enjoy
How To Prevent Bloating
Typically, the first line of treatment for preventing gas and bloating is changing your diet. Research has shown that a low fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols diet can reduce the symptoms of gas and IBS. A low FODMAP diet avoids fermentable, gas-producing food ingredients, such as:
- Oligosaccharides, which are found in wheat, onions, garlic, legumes and beans
- Disaccharides, such as lactose in milk, yogurt and ice cream
- Monosaccharides, including fructose , apples and pears
- Polyols or sugar alcohols found in foods such as apricots, nectarines, plums and cauliflower, as well as many chewing gums and candies
The small intestine doesnt always fully absorb these carbohydrates, instead passing them to the colon, where they are fermented by bacteria and produce gas, Lee says. Not everyone gets gas and bloating from every FODMAP foods. You might start by cutting out FODMAP foods and then slowly bringing them back into your diet one at a time to pinpoint problem foods.
In the long run, the key to preventing bloating is understanding its cause. If mild constipation is the problem, a fiber-rich diet, water and exercise may help, but these steps wont always work for chronic constipation. Chronic constipation and other conditions, such as IBS or gastroparesis, require medical treatment, so its important to talk to your doctor about your bloating symptoms.
Feeling Bloated?
You May Like: Why Is My Stomach Fat Not Going Away
Why Does Stomach Pain Happen
Belly pain or stomach pain takes place as a way of alerting us that something is abnormal and we need to take action.
We can notice the reason for some belly pain, especially when we notice that we had eaten spoiled food or unsafe water, in which we can experience stomach pain within a few minutes after taking the food or water.
Typically, when one experiences pain in the stomach, it might be an actual problem right in your stomach, but not necessarily.
This is because a persons abdomen is more than just your stomach alone, but it is more than your intestines.
It is the whole area between your chest and your pelvic bones, with innumerable organs in the abdomen. Therefore, different problems can have similar symptoms.
Reasons Your Stomach May Hurt
What it feels like: There’s recurring stomach aches in the morning may …
Stomachaches – KidsHealth
Overview. stomach aches in the morning that cannot be explained by any visible or detectable abnormality, after a thorough physical examination and appropriate further …
13 Stomach Ulcer Symptoms, Treatment, Diet, Causes, and Types
The major causes of stomach aches in the morning, and chronic widespread pain.
Don’t Miss: What To Do For Severe Stomach Pain
What Are The Main Causes Of Keto Stomach Pains
So, what causes keto stomach pain? There are several reasons you may experience gastric discomfort on keto, with the main culprits being:
Dehydration going keto can lead to dehydration. When you cut carbs from your diet, your body releases and uses stored carbohydrates for energy, a substance called glycogen. Glycogen is glucose combined with water. As the glycogen is utilized, your body releases the water, which is excreted. This represents a significant amount of the water stored in your body.
In addition, turning fat into energy uses a lot of water. Needless to say, on keto, youll be burning a lot more fat than usual.
Finally, keto dieters often end up drinking fewer fluids. Thats because a lot of drinks, such as juices and sodas, are not very keto-friendly. If you drink less, you are more likely to become dehydrated.
Dehydration affects your stomach in several ways:
All of these factors add up to an increased incidence of stomach pain on keto.
Less fiber going keto means cutting out a lot of common sources of fiber, such as whole grains and cereals. Fiber helps keep you regular by bulking up your feces. Low-bulk feces are much harder to push through your colon, leading to increased pressure and abdominal discomfort. This situation is made worse by dehydration.
Optimize Your Diet To Prevent Stomach Pain
Avoiding stomach pain is one of the main things to consider when planning your diet before an event or competition. This means including foods that are easy to digest and contain low amounts of lipids.
Its also important to reduce your alcohol consumption to avoid damaging the stomach lining. At the same time, you should avoid foods that irritate the stomach, such as spicy foods
Some stomach pain is the result of pre-existing conditions such as helicobacter pylori or food intolerances. To address this, youll need a correct diagnosis so that you can get the appropriate treatment from a professional. Although many such cases do respond well to probiotics.
If you suffer from an intolerance, such as lactose intolerance, the only solution might be to eliminate it from your diet completely. It might seem frustrating, but itll prevent stomach pain when exercising, which can only be a good thing for your overall performance.
You May Like: What To Eat With Inflamed Stomach
Questions To Ask Your Doctor
- Do I need a test to diagnose lactose intolerance?
- Why do certain foods cause my bloating when they never used to?
- What can I do if I have diabetesand my medicine or artificial sweeteners cause bloating?
- Could my bloating be a sign of something more serious?
- What kind of tests will I need?
- What kind of over-the-counter medicine can I try?
Treatments For An Upset Stomach
Drink plenty of liquids, but do so in small amounts water is a good choice. Sports drinks and coconut water help replenish electrolytes, which can help if you experience vomiting. Try clear, carbonated, and caffeine-free beverages such as tonic water, club soda, or ginger ale. Teas containing peppermint, chamomile, or ginger may help settle an upset stomach.
Eat bland foods such as bananas, rice, applesauce, and white bread. Soup, broth, or bullion are good options if you do not have an appetite, or if you have trouble keeping solid food down. Avoid dairy and whole grains, as well as rich, spicy, greasy, and fatty foods.
Other things that can help treat an upset stomach:
- Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol, and caffeinated beverages.
- Over-the-counter antacids can help relieve an upset stomach.
- Wear loose-fitting clothing, especially pants.
- Sit upright and avoid lying down or bending over at the waist.
Don’t Miss: How Can I Lose Stomach Fat Without Losing Weight
Root Cause Of Stomach Pain After Fasting
The root cause of stomach pain during fasting is more production of gastric juices. Gastric juices are acidic in nature. This causes heartburn and initiates stomach discomforts. The feeling is often described as too dull to tolerate but strong enough to make you uneasy.
When you are fasting for quite a long interval of time, your stomach remains relatively empty. The gastric juice continues being secreted and increases the acidic pH of the stomach contents. This causes acidity.
For this reason, you might feel hunger punches in modes of pain in your stomach. These are light and repetitive. Not to worry, there will be no stomach pain after eating.
On the other hand, after you eat the stomach feels bloated. As you were on an empty stomach for a long time, your brain will tell you to eat more, and in turn, it will burden the stomach. Bloating can progress to gas formation in the stomach and initiate light pain in your epigastrium. It is possible to feel pain and tenderness with movements too. At times, the pain radiates to the chest and back.
General Abdominal Pain With Bloating
Possible explanation: irritable bowel syndrome
What is it: As a syndrome, IBS refers to a group of symptoms that have been identified in addition to abdominal pain and bloating, many people also experience changes in bowel habits like constipation and diarrhea. It is not well known what causes IBS, but it may be related to genetics, food sensitivity, stress, or an infection.
Treatment: There is no cure for IBS at this time, so treatment revolves around managing whatever symptoms are present. Medications to treat diarrhea and constipation can be supplemented by some changes to diet one highly recommended regimen is a low-FODMAP diet, which refers to foods that contain certain fermentable components.
Also Check: What Causes Acid Build Up In The Stomach