Stomach pain

Stomach pain can be severe or mild, depending on the underlying disease. It is important to understand the nature of stomach pain so that you can get the necessary medical help in time.

If you have stomach pain, first of all it is necessary to characterize its intensity, nature and localization of pain. This will help in making the correct diagnosis and prescribing adequate and effective treatment.

Pain in the stomach can be of different nature: burning in the pit of the stomach, aching, gnawing, dull, sharp pain in the stomach, pulling, cramping, cutting, often accompanied by stomach spasms.

Pain in the stomach and its connection with food intake is of great importance in topical diagnostics of the pathological process.

With a stomach ulcer, "hunger pains" are often felt, which disappear after eating. Pain in the stomach an hour or two after eating can be caused by spasmodic contraction of the intestine.

Stomach pain that wakes you up in the middle of the night deserves attention. Night pain in the stomach area may indicate, first of all, a stomach ulcer. Similar stomach pains may appear with functional disorders of the stomach, including various indigestion and dyspepsia.

Often, stomach pain is accompanied by other symptoms: heartburn, nausea, vomiting, belching, bad breath, bloating, bowel problems - constipation or diarrhea.

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Causes of stomach pain

When the doctor makes a diagnosis, he will try to find out the causes of stomach pain in order to make a correct diagnosis. Stomach pain can be associated with:

• Incorrect food intake (long breaks in food intake)
• Overeating
• Poor quality food
• Stress
• Increased physical activity
• Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract
• Injuries to internal organs

If the pain in the stomach occurs immediately after eating, it may indicate chronic gastritis. If the pain occurs immediately after eating and lasts for an hour and a half, it may be a sign of a stomach ulcer. If the pain occurs after an hour and a half, it may be a pyloric canal (gatekeeper) ulcer.

If the pain occurs mainly at night, accompanied by a feeling of hunger, it may be caused by an ulcer of the duodenum or stomach. Or the cause may be duodenitis.

Diseases that cause stomach pain

Let's take a closer look at the diseases that can cause stomach pain.

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Gastritis

There are several types of gastritis, namely:

• Bacterial (due to disease-causing bacteria)
• Stressful (arises due to stress)
• Arising from erosion (erosive)
• Fungal (due to fungal or viral invasion)
• Atrophic (occurs due to atrophy – thinning – of the gastric mucosa or inflammation of this organ)
• Eosinophilic (due to allergies)

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What causes gastritis?

Gastritis can be caused by irritation from alcohol, chronic vomiting, stress, or the use of medications such as aspirin or other anti-inflammatory drugs. It can also be caused by any of these reasons:

1. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori): a bacterium that lives in the lining of the stomach. If left untreated, the infection can lead to ulcers and, in some cases, stomach cancer.
2. Gastric anemia: A condition in which the stomach lacks the natural substances needed to properly absorb and utilize vitamin B12.
3. Gastric reflux: the backflow of bile into the stomach from the bile ducts (irritation which involves the liver and gallbladder).
4. Infections caused by bacteria and viruses.

If gastritis is left untreated, it can lead to severe blood loss and may increase the risk of developing stomach cancer.

What are the symptoms of gastritis?

The symptoms of gastritis vary from person to person, and many people have no symptoms until the condition flares up. However, the most common symptoms are:

• Nausea or recurrent upset stomach
• Bloating
• Abdominal pain
• Vomit
• Indigestion
• A burning or painful sensation in the stomach between meals or at night
• Hiccups
• Loss of appetite
• Vomiting blood

Stomach cancer

Stomach cancer begins when the cells that make up the tissues fail to divide properly. The tissues form the organs.

Typically, cells grow and divide, creating new ones that the body needs. When cells age, they die, and new cells take their place.

Sometimes this process goes wrong, new cells are formed when the body does not need them, and old or damaged cells do not die as they should. The growth of extra cells often forms polyps or tumors.

A tumor in the stomach can be benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer). Benign tumors are not nearly as harmful as malignant tumors.

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Benign tumors:

• rarely pose a threat to life
• can be removed and usually do not grow back
• do not penetrate into the surrounding tissues
• do not spread to other parts of the body

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Malignant tumors:

• may be life threatening
• Often cancerous tumors can be removed, but sometimes they grow back
• can grow and damage neighboring organs and tissues
• may spread to other parts of the body

Stomach cancer usually begins in the cells of the inner layer of the stomach. Over time, the cancer can invade deeper layers of the stomach wall. Stomach cancer can begin to grow through the outer layer of the stomach into nearby organs, such as the liver, pancreas, esophagus, or intestines.

Stomach cancer cells can spread by breaking away from the original tumor. They affect blood vessels or lymphatic vessels that branch out throughout the body. Cancer cells can also spread to the lymph nodes in the abdomen. They can also spread to other tissues and grow to form new tumors that can damage those tissues. The spread of these cells is called metastasis.

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Symptoms of stomach cancer

Early stomach cancer often causes no symptoms. As the cancer cells grow, the most common symptoms are:

Discomfort or pain in the stomach area

• Difficulty swallowing
• Nausea and vomiting
• Weight loss
• Feeling full or bloated even after small meals
• Vomiting blood or blood in the stool

These symptoms may not be related to cancer. Other health problems, such as an ulcer or infection, can cause the same symptoms. Anyone who notices these symptoms, especially stomach pain, should tell their doctor, as these problems require diagnosis and treatment as early as possible.

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Peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum

Peptic ulcers, also known as gastric ulcers, are located in the lining of the stomach, causing abdominal pain, bleeding, and other gastrointestinal symptoms. The most common cause of stomach ulcers is a stomach infection caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H pylori). It can be spread through contaminated food and water. Many people become infected with H. pylori at a young age, but symptoms often persist into adulthood.

In some people, H.pylori bacteria can cause infections in the lining of the stomach, which can lead to stomach ulcers. Damage to the stomach lining from stomach acid increases the likelihood that an H.pylori infection will lead to a stomach ulcer. Other risk factors for stomach ulcers include alcohol use, tobacco use, and long-term use of medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Severe stomach disease may also be associated with the development of stomach ulcers.

The symptoms of stomach ulcers may be constant or sporadic, and the course of the disease varies from person to person. If H.pylori is indeed the cause of the stomach ulcer, the symptoms will not stop until the infection is treated. Some people with stomach ulcers experience no symptoms, while others may experience burning pain, severe nausea, and vomiting.

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Gastric polyps

Gastric polyps are abnormal growths on the lining of the stomach. They are rare and usually attached to the upper gastrointestinal tract. They are usually detected during endoscopy. A biopsy is usually performed as an additional examination method. Then the doctor determines that it is a hyperplastic polyp or adenoma.

Hyperplastic polyps are the most common form of gastric polyps. They can occur singly or in groups and are most often found in the lower part of the stomach, called the gastric cavity. Hyperplastic gastric polyps are smooth, round, stalked growths that grow on the lining of the stomach. They often develop in the presence of chronic inflammation, such as gastritis or H. pylori infection. Treatment, if needed, may include medications to treat the inflammation or infection; the good news is that hyperplastic polyps rarely become cancerous.

If you have stomach polyps, you may experience:

• Abdominal pain or tenderness when palpating the abdomen
• Bleeding
• Nausea and vomiting

Gastric polyps form in response to inflammation or other damage to the stomach lining.

Gastric adenomas can form from glandular cells found in the inner lining of the stomach. Their cells develop as a result of an error in the DNA. These changes make the cells vulnerable and they can become cancerous. Although adenomas are a less common type of gastric polyp, they can cause stomach cancer.

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Stomach pain can also be caused by other diseases. For example:

• Constipation.
• Indigestion.
• Tension in the abdominal muscles.
• Injuries to the stomach and other internal organs.
• Overwork.
• Severe stress.
• Allergy.
• Inflammation of the appendix.
• Infections.
• Fears, phobias.

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How to diagnose stomach pain?

To determine an accurate diagnosis, it is important to take into account the intensity of the stomach pain. Moderate stomach pain most often indicates gastritis.

In case of moderate stomach pain, people usually do not seek medical advice, which leads to the progression of the disease and the development of complications. Rarely, mild stomach pain can indicate an ulcer or cancer.

Excruciating pain in the stomach can be a life-threatening symptom or a sign of ulcerative lesions in other organs located near the stomach.

Stabbing pain in the stomach is a very dangerous surgical condition. This pain may indicate a perforation of a stomach ulcer, resulting in the stomach contents leaking into the abdominal cavity.

If you have a sharp and acute pain in your stomach, you urgently need to see a gastroenterologist.

What causes stomach pain If you have stomach pain (pain in the epigastric region), first of all you need to think about gastritis. Gastritis is an inflammation of the gastric mucosa, which is most often found not only in adults, but also in children.

A sharp pain in the stomach may indicate poisoning or a chemical burn, which are caused by the ingestion of poor-quality food or chemically active substances, such as acids or alkalis.

Pain in the stomach can be provoked by other organs located nearby or involved in the pathological process - the gallbladder, pancreas, heart, pleura, small intestine.

You should not ignore stomach pain and self-medicate by taking painkillers. Since stomach pain can indicate serious diseases of the digestive system, and the lack of timely medical intervention will lead to the progression of the disease, which can lead to bleeding and stomach cancer.

You should see a doctor if stomach pain occurs regularly, lasts for several hours or days, and you experience loss of appetite and weight loss.

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Intensity of stomach pain

Each disease produces its own type of pain. For example, with chronic gastritis, stomach pain can vary from barely noticeable to severe. And with a stomach ulcer, the pain can be so strong that a person cannot tolerate it. Duodenitis or duodenal ulcer can be accompanied by the most intense and sharp pains in the stomach. If you feel that the pain is constantly getting worse, you need to see a doctor. Otherwise, if you wait until the last minute, a person can die from pain shock. An example of such a disease is a perforated ulcer.

It is important to know that the intensity of stomach pain can be significantly reduced if a person has had stomach surgery. Then he may not feel pain even when the ulcer worsens.

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The nature of stomach pain

It may vary depending on the type of disease and complications caused by this pain. For example, burning pain characterizes gastritis or ulcers, and a dull aching pain may be a symptom of chronic gastritis or stomach ulcers in the initial stage. Sometimes a stomach ulcer or duodenal ulcer may be accompanied by severe pain similar to spasms.

If the middle of the abdomen hurts, this may indicate chronic gastritis with low acidity. If the pain increases sharply, this means that the person may have colitis, cholecystitis or pancreatitis. If the pain is cutting, sharp, and occurs suddenly, then cholecystitis or pancreatitis, as well as a duodenal ulcer, may be detected during diagnostics.

If the pain is very sharp, stabbing, and unbearable, it may indicate ulcer perforation.

Who should I contact if my stomach hurts?

If you have stomach pain, you can contact an oncologist, gastroenterologist, surgeon, or therapist.