What To Do About Stomachaches
Stomachaches can be caused by many things, from gas or constipation to stress, overeating, or a contagious stomach bug. Sometimes, complaints about stomach pain may have nothing to do with the stomach itself pain can come from another part of the body.
How Is Abdominal Pain Diagnosed
Your healthcare provider will ask you detailed questions about your pain. Theyll want to know:
- Where you feel it.
- How long youve had it.
- If it comes and goes.
- If its getting worse.
- If it stays in one place or moves.
- What makes it better or worse.
- What other symptoms you have.
From your answers, your healthcare provider will try to determine if you need emergency treatment. Sometimes your healthcare provider will be able to tell right away that your pain is temporary and not serious. Sometimes they may suspect a more serious condition and may want to run some tests. And sometimes they wont be able to solve the mystery on the first visit. Your pain may subside, or you may have to return for further investigation.
How Long Does It Take
According to the American Addiction Centers, initial detox takes about a week. However, a person may find that their symptoms continue for longer. In most cases, a person can expect the following timeline:
- About 8 hours after the first drink, the initial stage of withdrawal symptoms begins.
- After about 2472 hours, symptoms generally peak.
- After about 57 days, symptoms may decrease in intensity.
- After the first week, some side effects, particularly the psychological ones, may continue.
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The Link Between Your Gut Microbiome And Your Health
In addition, many of the underlying conditions that cause abdominal pain can lead to serious complications, including the possibility of structural damage to the digestive system from infection, cancer and its treatments, and inflammatory bowel disease .
To reduce the risk of complications, its important to seek medical attention for your abdominal pain if its sudden and severe, or if it includes symptoms like fever, bloody stool, weight loss, nausea and vomiting, or visible swelling.
Does Laying Down Help Stomach Ache
When the stomach empties faster, gas is able to move more quickly into your small intestine and cause less distress. Although many people who are experiencing gas or bloating feel better when they go horizontal, it’s actually better to stay upright. “Simply lying down often provides relief from bloating,” Palmer says.
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When To See A Doctor About Abdominal Pain
Go straight to your doctor or the emergency department of the nearest hospital if you have any of the following:
- pain lasting for several hours
- pain or vaginal bleeding if you are pregnant
- pain in your scrotum if you are a male
- pain and vomiting or shortness of breath
- pain and vomiting blood
- blood in your bowel motions or urine
- pain that spreads to your chest, neck or shoulder
- unable to move your bowels or pass gas
- any other concerns.
Prevention Of Abdominal Pain
In many cases, abdominal pain can be prevented by adopting lifestyle and dietary choices that address the cause of your pain. Constipation, digestive upset, and even abdominal injury can often be prevented.
The following steps may help you prevent abdominal pain:
Drink plenty of water.
Develop regular bowel habits. Many people can train themselves to have regular bowel movements to help avoid constipation.
Follow a balanced, fiber-filled diet. Eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, and fiber-rich foods, like whole grains, can help support healthy digestion and reduce constipation.
Eat regularly and slowly. Eating moderately-sized meals, instead of waiting until youre very hungry and stuffing yourself, can help avoid pain from overeating or eating on an empty stomach.
Exercise regularly. Getting enough physical activity can help prevent constipation and strengthen your abdominal muscles, which may help prevent straining.
Wear a seatbelt properly.
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You Woke Up With Numb Hands
Numbs hands are not to be ignored. In some cases, the cause can be as simple as temporary poor circulation after sleeping in a weird position. But more severe cases could mean something serious, like a nerve issue. Numbness and tingly fingers at night could be related to carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition caused by pressure on the median nerve.
“Numbness in the thumb and first finger is commonly due to compression of the median nerve in the ‘carpal tunnel,’ a narrow passageway composed of ligaments and bones on the palmar side of the hand,” says neurologist Eva Feldman, MD, PhD, director of the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies at the University of Michigan.
If you’re experiencing persistent numbness in your hands or in other parts of the body, you should seek medical attention immediately.
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When Stomach Pain Is An Emergency
Your stomach pain may be serious and indicate a medical emergency if it is accompanied by:
- Extremely hard abdomen
- Inability to have a bowel movement, along with vomiting
- Pain in the neck, shoulder, or between shoulder blades
- Pain that starts in the belly button and moves to the right side
Sometimes stomach pain is mild at first but gets worse after a few hours. These symptoms may not develop until that time.
If you have these symptoms, call for an ambulance or have someone drive you to the ER. You should not “wait and see” or take medicine for the pain. Get help right away.
When stomach pain is associated with these other symptoms, it may be caused by a life-threatening condition. Some examples of these conditions include:
These emergencies usually cause pain that feels extreme.
Other circumstances in which you should discuss stomach pain with a healthcare provider include when:
- You’re pregnant
- Your pain started within a week of abdominal surgery
- Your pain started after a procedure in your stomach area, like an endoscopy
- You have ever had surgery on your digestive tract, like a gastric bypass, colostomy, or bowel resection
- Your pain started shortly after an abdominal trauma
- Your abdomen is bruised or rapidly expanding
- Excessive vaginal bleeding, or blood clots and bleeding longer than usual
- You have rectal bleeding, or tarry-looking or bloody stool
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What Is The Fastest Way To Cure Gastric Pain
Here are some quick ways to expel trapped gas, either by burping or passing gas.
Heres The Best Way To Cure An Upset Stomach
A stomach ache can strike for all kinds of reasons, from contaminated food to chronic disease. It passes, sure, but the pain, headache, diarrhea, vomiting and other classic symptoms of stomach flu ensure a crummy couple of days
It can be tough to know what to put in your body when youre dealing with an upset stomach, but there are a few surefire foods. Ginger, scientifically, is a good place to start. Ginger and also turmeric, which is a member of the ginger family, seem to be anti-inflammatory, says Dr. Emeran Mayer, a professor of digestive diseases at UCLA. Both ginger and turmeric are roots, he says, and may have developed special antibacterial properties in order to withstand contamination from microorganisms in soil. Skip the sugary commercial ginger ales, which contain little real ginger, and sip water infused with ginger or turmeric instead, he advises.
Once youve stopped vomiting and your stomach feels a bit better, you will want to eat. But dont sit down for a big meal nibble food throughout the day instead, Murray explains.
Another issue is that nearly all the research linking probiotics to relief of gut-related issues has looked at freeze-dried probiotics in capsules or tablets, Mason says. Eating yogurt or Kefir or other probiotic foods to relieve symptoms may be effective, but that hasnt yet been shown.
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Calm Your Mind And Body
When we are in pain, we tend to get anxious. Unfortunately, anxiety can make our pain worse. Taking a few minutes to calm down can be very effective.
Relaxation exercises are a way to break the cycle of anxiety and pain. They offer a way to “turn off” the anxious feelings. Of course, they work better with regular practice, but can still offer some benefits for immediate pain relief.
Three basic types of relaxation exercises are:
With a little experimentation, you can decide which methods work best for you.
Rub The Foot Using Reflexology
“There are thousands of nerves in the feet and hands that, when specific techniques are applied, can cause the entire body to relax and feel calmer,” says Laura Norman, a reflexology practitioner and author of Feet First: A Guide to Food Reflexology. The tummy region corresponds with the center arch of the left foot. Using a reflexology technique, hold your child’s left foot with the palm of your right hand, and with your left hand under the ball of the foot, apply a steady, even pressure with your thumb.
Use a forward, caterpillar-like motion to go across the foot. Switch hands and repeat from right to left, with the thumb of your right hand, and continue until you cover the center of the arch. “The child will respond positively to their mom’s loving touch, the parent feels wonderful for being able to help their child, and the parent-child connection is strengthened,” Norman adds.
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Sudden Stomach Cramps With Diarrhoea
If your stomach cramps have started recently and you also have diarrhoea, the cause may be a tummy bug . This means you have a viral or bacterial infection of the stomach and bowel. It should get better without treatment after a few days.
Gastroenteritis may be caused by:
- coming into close contact with someone who’s infected
- eating contaminated food
If you have repeated bouts of stomach cramps and diarrhoea, you may have a long-term condition, such as irritable bowel syndrome .
How Do I Know If My Stomach Pain Is Serious
According to the National Health Service, a person should seek immediate medical attention if their stomach ache is very severe or has a sudden onset.
People should contact a healthcare professional immediately if they notice other symptoms, such as vomiting blood, having difficulty passing urine or feces, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and jaundice.
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See Your Doctor As Soon As Possible If:
- your pain is no better after 2 hours of home care
- your abdomen is very painful
- your pain gets worse over time, or becomes sharper or stronger in one particular place
- your abdomen feels bloated or sticks out more than usual
- you cant stop vomiting
- you havent had a bowel motion or passed wind for 3 days
- youve lost your appetite
- there is blood in your vomit, urine or bowel motion, or vaginal bleeding that isnt a period.
You also need to see your doctor if you have other symptoms along with the pain such as fever or dizziness especially if those symptoms get worse over time or new symptoms develop.
Call Healthline if you are unsure what you should do.
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.
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Five Ways To Quit Smoking
Tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke are responsible for more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States, according to the American Lung Association.
Most people are aware of the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S.
Quitting smoking is not a single event that happens on one day it is a journey. By quitting, you will improve your health and the quality and duration of your life, as well as the lives of those around you.
To quit smoking, you not only need to alter your behavior and cope with the withdrawal symptoms experienced from cutting out nicotine, but you also need to find other ways to manage your moods.
With the right game plan, you can break free from nicotine addiction and kick the habit for good. Here are five ways to tackle smoking cessation.
What Is Abdominal Pain
Abdominal pain is discomfort or other uncomfortable sensations that you feel in your belly area. Just about everybody at one time or another will get a bellyache.
Most causes of abdominal pain aren’t reasons to worry, and your doctor can easily diagnose and treat the problem. Sometimes, though, it can be a sign of a serious illness that needs medical attention.
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How Is The Cause Of Abdominal Pain Diagnosed
Abdominal pain is one of the most common symptoms seen by GPs .
They may suggest you have some blood tests or other diagnostic procedures done, especially if you have had the symptoms for some time.
Tests and procedures that may help in diagnosing the cause of abdominal pain include:
Other procedures that may be suggested, depending on your gender, include:
- pregnancy test and/or pelvic ultrasound
- ultrasound of the scrotum
Why Does My Stomach Hurt
Tummy troubles are a common cause for a visit to the doctors office. When patients complain of stomach pain, they are sometimes describing pain that is throughout the abdomen area and may not actually be directly related to the organ known as the stomach.
Doctors first try to determine if a patients abdominal pain is caused by a structural or functional problem.
Sometimes the digestive tract does not function properly due to an abnormality with the structure of an organ. Medical imaging will show that the organ does not look normal and is not working properly.
The gastrointestinal system has its own nervous system to control the muscle contractions that digest the food you eat. Functional problems, also called motility disorders, result from poor nerve and muscle function in the digestive tract. Gastrointestinal organs with motility problems will usually look normal on medical imaging tests, such as CT scans or MRI scans, but the organs do not work like they should. Because functional disorders are hard to see in imaging, they can be challenging to diagnose.
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Drink Warm Lemon Water To Relieve Stomach Pain
Since pregnant women should avoid fennel, they can try warm lemon water instead. The high acidity of the lemon will trigger extra production of your stomachs hydrochloric acid to further break down food and keep things moving smoothly.
- Squeeze the juice from one-half of a lemon into one cup of warm water.
- Mix well and drink while warm.
When To Take Medicine For Diarrhea
If you do feel a bowel movement, or possibly even a headache or fever, you may need to visit the doctor. When this happens, make sure to mention to the doctor that youre having diarrhea. You should also tell the doctor if youre taking medicine for another illness. Certain medications can increase the risk of diarrhea. You may want to avoid taking medicine that contains acetaminophen if youre having diarrhea. This is because acetaminophen may cause a rash. If youre taking medication for other illnesses, its important to discuss the medications youre taking with your doctor. If you feel that youre having diarrhea for a prolonged period of time, you may need to visit a doctor. This is because diarrhea can sometimes be a sign of a more serious condition.
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Common Causes Of Abdominal Pain
The most common causes of abdominal pain can be classified into three general categories: digestive problems, inflammation and female reproduction.
- Digestive problems: If you experience abdominal pain after you eat, you may have indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, food allergies or food poisoning.
- Inflammation: Painful irritation or infection in your organs can be caused by inflammation from the stomach flu, a peptic ulcer, GERD , gallstones, pancreatitis or a urinary tract infection.
- Female reproduction: Pain related to the female reproductive cycle could be from menstrual cramps, ovulation or inflammation in the female organs.
Causes Of Abdominal Pain In Adults
There are many reasons why you may have pain in your abdomen. People often worry about appendicitis, gallstones, ulcers, infections and pregnancy problems. Doctors also worry about these, as well as many other conditions.
Abdominal pain may not come from the abdomen. Some surprising causes include heart attacks and pneumonia, conditions in the pelvis or groin, some skin rashes like shingles, and problems with stomach muscles like a strain. The pain may occur along with problems in passing urine or with bowel motions, or period problems.With so many organs and structures in the abdomen, it can be hard for a doctor to be absolutely sure about the cause of your problem.
The doctor will ask you several questions and then examine you carefully. The doctor may perform no further tests. The cause of your pain may be quite clearly not serious. Another scenario may be that the doctor is unable to find a cause, but the pain gets better within hours or days. The doctor will assess whether the pain requires surgery or admission to hospital.
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