Avoiding Smoking And Drinking Alcohol
Smoking can irritate the throat, increasing the likelihood of an upset stomach. If the person has vomited, smoking can further irritate the tender tissue already sore from stomach acids.
As a toxin, alcohol is difficult to digest and can cause damage to the liver and stomach lining.
People with an upset stomach should avoid smoking and drinking alcohol until they are feeling better.
Natural Home Remedies To Treat Abdominal Pain
Many people experience abdominal pain at some point in their lives. Symptoms can range from mild discomfort to severe sharp stabbing pains in the abdominal area. Although causes may vary, some of the more common reasons why abdominal may occur are due to constipation, a stomach virus, gas, lactose intolerance, ulcers, food allergies or poisoning, menstrual cramps, kidney stones, irritable bowel disease or syndrome, a urinary tract infection, a hernia, gallstones, and endometriosis. Here are some ways to treat abdominal pain naturally.
Causes And Risk Factors
Stomach pain may come from one or several causes. Many causes of stomach pain are simple to treat at home. The location of your abdominal pain can be a clue to what might be wrong.
Sometimes severe stomach pain requires a trip to the doctor or even a trip to the emergency room . In a clinical study of ER visits for stomach pain, doctors often ruled the cause to be nonspecific abdominal pain, which means the cause could not be found. Another common cause of emergency visits for stomach pain is a kidney stone that blocks part of the urinary tract . Together, these two conditions accounted for about 60 percent of all ER visits for abdominal pain.
Older people had more bile-duct blockage, gallbladder inflammation and diverticulitis pouches that arise in the colon wall. People younger than 65 years had more appendix attacks than older people.
Some of the most common causes of stomach pain include:
- Indigestion
- Stomach flu and other infections, like Helicobacter pylori, which is related to stomach ulcers
Less common causes include:
Outside of the stomach, abdominal pain is also found in specific areas. Some conditions, such as ovary pain, can be on the left or right side.
Upper Stomach Pain:
- Some illegal drugs
Don’t Miss: Can You Move Fat From Your Stomach To Your Breast
Have A Bowl Of Yogurt
Yogurt might not seem like an obvious remedy for stomach problems, but if you want to know how to get rid of cramps, a bowl of plain, regular yogurt might do the trick. Thats because yogurt is full of probiotics that can restore balance to your gut, improving your digestion.
Go for plain yogurt rather than the sweetened kind, since sugar can upset your stomach and throw off your balance of gut bacteria even more. If you cant stomach the taste of plain yogurt, drizzle a little honey over the top or mix in a few berries.
Get the freshest yogurt you can find. For long-term relief, make yogurt part of your diet every day.
Duration Of Abdominal Pain
Abdominal pain can be brief or long-lasting, depending on its underlying cause. It can be ongoing or recurring, coming and going at what seem like random intervals or with certain activities or behaviors.
How long your abdominal pain lasts, or whether it comes and goes, doesnt necessarily correspond to how severe the underlying condition is.
Recommended Reading: Do Stomach Ulcers Cause Bloating
Rice Water To Relieve Stomachache
Last but not least, look to rice more specifically, look to the leftover water after you cook rice.
Rice water is capable of forming a coating over certain membranes like, for instance, the lining of your stomach. This barrier can be a soothing lining to help ease inflammation and offer relief from stomach pain.
For a simple rice water remedy, first wash one-half cup of white rice.
- Add rice to six cups of boiled water, cover, and allow to sit until rice is tender.
- Strain the water into a cup to cool.
- Add one-half teaspoon of honey.
- Sip on two cups daily.
Related Conditions Of Abdominal Pain
Some of the most common conditions associated with abdominal pain include the following:
Irritable Bowel Syndrome This condition is characterized by symptoms like diarrhea, constipation, and bloating.
Constipation If you arent having regular bowel movements, you may feel bloated and full and experience sharp gas pains in your abdomen.
Peptic Ulcer When a sore develops in the lining of your stomach or upper small intestine, you may experience a burning sensation similar to hunger pangs, along with nausea, vomiting, or heartburn.
Pancreatitis Inflammation of your pancreas may cause sharp, severe pain in the upper middle area of your abdomen, along with nausea, vomiting, or fever. This condition can be either acute or chronic.
Diverticulitis
Recommended Reading: What To Wear Under Dress To Hide Stomach
Lowering The Effects Of High Fat Meals
In 2011, researchers concluded that diets rich in antioxidant spices, including cinnamon, may help reduce the bodys negative response to eating high fat meals.
Six people consumed dishes containing 14 g of a spice blend. Blood tests showed that antioxidant activity increased by 13%, insulin response fell by 21%, and triglycerides fell by 31%.
When To See A Doctor For A Stomach Ache
If your symptoms are persistent and you’re having ongoing abdominal pain, it’s best to see your doctor rather than continuing to take these meds to rule out serious conditions.
Also, if your stomach ache is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and fever, Gagneja says you should seek medical attention as soon as possible instead of trying to mask the symptoms with OTC medications. These symptoms could be a sign of appendicitis, which must be treated by a doctor.
Keep in mind that OTC medications are just band-aids for relieving symptoms. They are not designed to address any serious underlying condition, such as inflammatory bowel disease , celiac disease, ulcers, or cancer, Gagneja says. This is why it’s not recommended to take these medications long-term if symptoms are persisting.
“If people keep on taking these symptom relief over the counter meds, then those diseases can be missed,” says Gagneja.
Read Also: How To Detect Stomach Cancer
Prognosis Of Abdominal Pain
How long your abdominal pain lasts, and whether it gets better or worse, will depend on the cause of your pain and how the pain responds to any treatments.
Many forms of abdominal pain tend to respond to self-care measures or simply get better on their own, including pain caused by constipation, food allergies or intolerances, or stomach viruses.
General Abdominal Pain With Diarrhea
Possible explanation: gastroenteritis
What is it: In simplest terms, gastroenteritis is inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, typically involving the stomach and/or small intestine. Most of the time gastroenteritis is caused by a virus norovirus is one example of a common cause. The viral infection causes the inflammation, and that, in turn, causes diarrhea, abdominal pain, and sometimes vomiting.
Treatment: As a generally non-serious condition, gastroenteritis is often treated by focusing on managing diarrhea and any other symptoms. A central aspect of this treatment is counteracting the dehydration that often accompanies the infection by pushing fluids. In the past, doctors recommended diet changes such as the BRAT diet, but this is no longer the generally accepted practice.
Recommended Reading: How To Avoid Stomach Ulcers
Treatment For Abdominal Pain In Adults
Your treatment depends on what is causing your pain, but may include:
- Pain relief your pain may not go away fully with painkillers, but it should ease.
- Fluids you may have fluids given into a vein to correct fluid loss and rest your bowel.
- Medicines for example, you may be given something to stop you vomiting.
- Fasting your doctor may ask you not to eat or drink anything until the cause of your pain is known.
What Foods Can Relieve Stomach Pain
Here are some foods that can act as natural remedies for stomach aches and other symptoms of an upset stomach.
BRAT diet
BRAT is a diet doctors recommend for diarrhea. These are starchy foods that help to bind the stool and make it firmer. They can also help reduce the number of times you need to go to the toilet. Plus, they are bland foods that do not irritate the stomach lining. They can help soothe tissues irritated by stomach acids in vomit. Lastly, the foods in a BRAT diet contain nutrients like magnesium and potassium to replace the ones lost during vomiting and diarrhea.
Spices
Spices like cinnamon, clove, fennel seeds, and cumin are used in Chinese medicine to relieve an upset stomach. They have anti-inflammatory properties and can speed up slow digestion. These spices can help ease cramps, acidity, indigestion, gas, bloating, belching, and other digestive tract symptoms. You can add these spices to your food or make a tea by adding them to boiling water and sipping on the liquid 2-3 times a day.
Also Check: How To Burn Stomach Fat Naturally
When To Contact A Medical Professional
Get medical help right away or call your local emergency number if you:
- Are currently being treated for cancer
- Are unable to pass stool, especially if you are also vomiting
- Are vomiting blood or have blood in your stool
- Have chest, neck, or shoulder pain
- Have sudden, sharp abdominal pain
- Have pain in, or between, your shoulder blades with nausea
- Have tenderness in your belly, or your belly is rigid and hard to the touch
- Are pregnant or could be pregnant
- Had a recent injury to your abdomen
- Have difficulty breathing
You May Like: Why Does My Stomach Stay So Bloated
Why Does My Stomach Hurt
There are numerous reasons for abdominal pain. It can come from any of the organs in your belly gallbladder, pancreas, liver, stomach and intestines or the abdominal wall the outer shell of the body. Sometimes you feel the pain in your belly, but its actually coming from the chest, back or pelvis.
Abdominal wall pain is common and easy to miss as healthcare professionals may direct their attention to internal organs as a cause of the pain. Once the abdominal wall is considered as a suspect, it is generally easy to nail down this diagnosis. If a patient strains the ab wall muscles from exertion, he may tell his doctor that he has right sided stomach pain. Clearly, this pain is not caused by a diseased internal organ such as the gallbladder or the stomach.
Healthcare providers can often determine where pain is coming from by taking a detailed history from you. Depending upon the physicians style, you may be simply asked to relate your medical story in your own words as a narrative. Other physicians may prefer to ask a series of detailed questions. Others may utilize both techniques. This medical history is paramount, even more important than the physical examination. After the history and physical, certain diagnostic tests may be advised to make an accurate diagnosis.
Recommended Reading: What Causes Swollen Stomach And Pain
Influencing Blood Sugar Levels
review .
The review also noted that after 60 people with type 2 diabetes consumed up to 6 grams of cinnamon per day for between 40 days and 4 months, they had lower serum glucose, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and total cholesterol.
However, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health , a 2012 concluded that cinnamon does not help lower levels of glucose or glycosylated hemoglobin A1c which are long-term measures of blood glucose control in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
Another small looked at the impact of cinnamon, calcium, and zinc on blood pressure management in people with type 2 diabetes. The results did not show that this treatment had any impact.
Which foods are good choices for people with diabetes? Find out here.
When Is Stomach Pain Most Likely To Occur
If you have anxiety, stomach pain can occur at any time even when no anxiety is present. However, many people experience stomach pain during panic attacks.
The exact link between an anxiety attack and stomach pain is not clear, other than the fact that during a panic attack, your body is under a considerable amount of stress, and your hormones are often on overdrive. Also, those with anxiety attacks are prone to hyperventilation, which may lead to symptoms that create stomach pain.
You May Like: What Kills Parasites In Your Stomach
What Even Causes Gas Pain
Why does gas sometimes hurt so bad that you want to cry and check yourself into the ER? Good question. There are a few main causes of gas to keep in mind:
1. Youre swallowing a lot of air: We touched on this above, but its worth emphasizing as a gas pain cause. While its unlikely that youre actually trying to suck down a bunch of oxygen, certain habits like regularly using a straw, drinking a lot of carbonated beverages, eating too quickly, and chewing gum can cause you to take in more air than normal. When this causes gas, its typically via burping, since the air comes back up before it can go all the way to your stomach.
2. Youre eating foods youre sensitive to: Your stomach and small intestine dont entirely break down certain carbohydrates you eat, so they end up getting to your large intestine intact, according to NIDDK. There, bacteria make gas as they process these undigested sugars, fibers, and starches. Certain foods, like dairy products and cruciferous vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, are more likely to cause gas than others, but everyones triggers are different.
3. You have a health condition: Gas can happen if you have health conditions that affect your digestive system, like irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, or Crohns disease, or bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Read Also: How To Get Rid Of Stomach Fat Without Surgery
Best Home Remedies For Upset Stomach
Upset stomach or indigestion is very common nowadays! Everyone suffers from this one or another day. Also, there is nothing more uncomfortable than an upset stomach. This feeling of stomach discomfort increased now may be due to lack of physical activity. The covid-19 pandemic has given a sudden break to our life including our physical activity. The new culture of work disturbed our daily routine somehow. That is one of the causes that most of us facing stomach upset problem daily basis.
In medical terms, an upset stomach is also called dyspepsia that describes discomfort in your upper abdomen. An upset stomach is not a disorder but a bunch of digestive disorder symptoms that make you uncomfortable. It can also be a symptom of another digestive tract disease.
You May Like: Does Laser Skin Tightening Work On Stomach
Treating And Healing Chronic Wounds
Research from 2015 says that scientists have found a way to package antimicrobial compounds from peppermint and cinnamon into tiny capsules that can both kill bacterial biofilms and actively promote healing.
In this way, peppermint and cinnamon could become part of a medicine for treating infected wounds.
Brew Some Cinnamon Tea
Cinnamon boosts your digestive power and cuts down on bloating and flatulence, making it a good choice when youre looking for relief from stomach pain.
You can add ground cinnamon to your food, but for the strongest effect, make tea with whole cinnamon sticks instead. To make one cup of tea, pour boiling water over one or two cinnamon sticks and cover for ten minutes.
If youre feeling creative, honey and ginger both make good additions to cinnamon tea.
You May Like: How To Reduce Lower Stomach Bloating
Sharp Abdominal Pain Symptoms
When abdominal pain is severe, it indicates an underlying problem. Severe abdominal pain is often referred to by the medical term acute abdomen. Severe abdominal pain, in some cases, requires emergency care. You know your body best, so if the pain becomes unbearable, seek care immediately. A few other symptoms you may be experiencing in addition to your severe abdominal pain are listed below.
Symptoms Of Abdominal Pain In Adults
The type of pain can vary greatly. When abdominal pain occurs, it can:
- be sharp, dull, stabbing, cramp-like, twisting or fit many other descriptions
- be brief, come and go in waves, or it can be constant
- make you throw up
- make you want to stay still or make you so restless that you pace around trying to find just the right position
- vary from a minor problem to one needing urgent surgery.
Also Check: How To Cure Bad Breath Due To Stomach Problems
How Is Abdominal Pain Diagnosed
The cause of abdominal pain is diagnosed based on your symptom history, a physical examination, and testing, if needed. Your doctor is likely to ask you questions about the characteristics of your pain, and whether you have any underlying physical or mental health conditions that could be contributing to your abdominal pain.
Questions from your doctor may address the following aspects of your abdominal pain:
- Where its located
- Whether its dull, stabbing, burning, or cramping
- Whether it comes and goes
- When you experience or notice it most
- Whether it radiates outward to other areas of your body
- How long youve had it
- Whether any activities or actions seem to make it worse or better
Your doctor may also ask about your overall health history, any recent injuries, and whether you might be pregnant.
- Blood, urine, or stool tests
- X-ray of the abdomen
- Computerized tomography scan of the abdomen
- Barium enema
- Endoscopic procedures
- Electrocardiogram
What Causes A Stomach Ache
Stomach problems are common, so your cramps could be caused by a number of different things.
Here are a few of the most common culprits behind an achy stomach:
- Gastritis. Gastritis is another name for inflammation of the stomach lining. It can be caused by a number of things, including bacterial infections, the use of certain drugs, age, or tobacco or alcohol use. Gastritis can cause upper stomach pain, nausea, and a feeling of fullness in your stomach.
- Acid reflux. Acid reflux, also known as gastrointestinal reflux disease, occurs when stomach acid gets backed up into the esophagus. It causes an aching or burning sensation in the stomach and behind the breastbone. Acid reflux can be caused by problems like a hiatal hernia, as well as by eating fatty or spicy foods.
- Lactose intolerance. Do you find yourself doubled over in pain after drinking a glass of milk or eating cheese? You could be lactose intolerant. People with lactose intolerance cant digest dairy, which leads to stomach pain and other digestive issues.
- Stress. Stress and anxiety can cause physical symptoms, including stomach aches.
Don’t Miss: What Causes Stomach Bloating And Nausea