Epigastric pain

"My stomach hurts!" - how often do we hear or say such words ourselves! Indeed, complaints of pain in the epigastric region are probably the most common in the practice of emergency doctors. At the same time, painful sensations in the epigastric region can put the doctor in front of the difficult task of establishing an accurate diagnosis. The fact is that a large number of various diseases can provoke the symptom of abdominal pain. An incorrectly established diagnosis can lead to the most disastrous consequences.

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What is the epigastric region?

How can you accurately determine that the abdominal pain that has arisen is related to the epigastrium? Try to mentally draw a triangle on your body: its base should pass along a straight line under the ribs (at the level of the navel), and the top should close in the area of the ribs (the height may be different in each specific case). The resulting triangle allows us to see the so-called epigastric section of our body.

What does pain in the epigastric region indicate?

Epigastric pain can have a completely different character and duration. These characteristics also help in establishing a diagnosis. Depending on which organ of your body provokes pain, the overall picture of pain can change. Diseases of such organs most often cause pain in the epigastric region:

• Lungs
• Heart
• Stomach
• Pancreas
• Spleen
• Large and small intestines
• Gallbladder
• Liver
• Kidneys
• Appendix
• Diaphragm

From the lungs, painful sensations in the epigastrium are caused by:

1. Pneumonia (pain changes with breathing, shortness of breath is also present)
2. Pleurisy (pain radiates to the neck and shoulder, especially acute when taking a deep breath)

Heart diseases that cause such pain:

1. Angina pectoris (pain may spread to the right shoulder, forearm and lower jaw)
2. Myocardial infarction (pain occurs suddenly, accompanied by low blood pressure and rapid breathing)
3. Other heart diseases.

Diseases of the stomach:

1. Ulcer of the stomach and duodenum (severe pain in the epigastric region, often accompanied by vomiting and tension in the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall)
2. Fundal gastritis (pain is sharp and paroxysmal)
3. Lesion of the cardial part of the stomach
4. Gastric dilation

Pancreas:

1. Acute pancreatitis (colicky or constant pain)
2. Recurrent pancreatitis (the pain spreads upward to the left shoulder and back – it has a girdle-like character)

Spleen:

1. Splenomegaly (pain occurs on the left and radiates to the left shoulder and neck)
2. Splenic infarction (the pain is very intense, accompanied by fever and pleurisy)

Intestines:

1. "Colitis
2. "High small intestinal obstruction (pain is paroxysmal, severe, localized in the upper abdomen, accompanied by vomiting)
3. "Peptic ulcer of the duodenum (pain occurs during relapses and may be accompanied by vomiting)

Biliary system:

1. Choledocholithiasis
2. Acute cholecystitis
3. Recurrent cholecystitis

Liver:

1. Hepatic colic (sharp pain in the epigastric region or right hypochondrium, occurring in attacks)

Kidneys:

1. Passage of a kidney stone (very severe pain occurs in the middle of the abdomen on one side and radiates to the lumbar region and perineal area, which is accompanied by frequent urge to go to the toilet and bloody discharge during urination)

Appendix:

1. Appendicitis (pain occurs in the epigastric region in the navel area, then becomes more severe and moves to the lower abdomen on the right side. When walking, such pain intensifies and radiates to the rectum. The pain intensifies especially when trying to lie on the left side)

Diaphragm:

1. Diaphragmatic hernia (pain often occurs after eating certain foods).

Ow, it hurts!

If you feel pain in the epigastric region that causes you severe discomfort and painkillers at home do not help you, call an ambulance immediately. As you can see, there are many diseases, and this article describes far from all of them, which can cause pain in the epigastrium and at the same time pose a great threat to human life.

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