The main causes of pain in the stomach
Stomach pain can occur for various reasons, most often due to gastritis. This pathology can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi. The bacteria Helicobacter pylori most often causes the development of gastritis. In addition, disruption of the integrity of the gastric mucosa occurs under the influence of certain medications, nervous stress, or allergic reactions. Another common cause of pain in the stomach is peptic ulcer. In this case, ulceration occurs on the mucous membrane.
Stomach pain can also be caused by
:
- Polyps.
- Malignant neoplasms.
- Infections.
- Food poisoning.
Other diseases can cause pain in the epigastric region - pancreatitis, esophagitis or diaphragmatic hernia. In addition, there is such a thing as functional pain in the stomach, when no pathologies are observed. In this case, the stomach hurts under the influence of psychosomatic factors.
Diagnosis of diseases
The primary diagnosis of pain in the stomach can be done based on the nature of the pain:
- moderately intense pain in the stomach is usually associated with the development of chronic gastritis. As a rule, they occur after eating;
- mild pain is also characteristic of the occurrence of neoplasms affecting the digestive organ;
- severe pain is characteristic of exacerbation of gastritis or peptic ulcer. In this case, acute pain occurs when the ulcer perforates, which is a serious complication and life-threatening;
- burning pain in the abdomen and stomach is characteristic of a burn of the gastric mucosa by any chemical substances;
- spasmodic pain in the stomach area usually occurs against the background of infectious diseases or functional disorders in the functioning of the digestive organ.
Massage
Unlike other abdominal organs, the stomach can be massaged both during remission and exacerbation. Before doing a massage, you must consult with a specialist and know the location of the organ. To relieve discomfort and spasms, you can use essential oils, for example, citrus, chamomile or ginger.
- You need to take a lying position on your back and warm your palms by placing them on your stomach. Breathing should be deep and slow. The procedure begins by stroking the abdominal area with the entire palm in a clockwise direction. With the right hand they knead the stomach in a circle. You need to work out all the points. Next, you need to place your palms on your stomach and slowly move them up towards your ribs.
- Place the fingers of your right hand in the left navel area. Left hand over right. You need to massage around the navel 20 times clockwise. Then change the position of your hands and move counterclockwise.
How to relieve severe stomach pain
When stomach pain occurs suddenly, then, of course, you need to know what first aid to provide at home. It is important to remember that painkillers should be used with great caution, as they can worsen a person's condition. Antispasmodics (No-shpa, Papaverine) are considered the most effective.
When an exacerbation occurs, which is accompanied by severe abdominal pain, it is recommended to take a lying position at home and tuck your knees. This will help slightly reduce the intensity of the pain. Additionally, you can put a cold compress of ice on the stomach area, and also do a light massage. When your stomach hurts, you can drink some water at room temperature.
Attention!
If you have severe stomach pain, you should urgently call an ambulance.
If acute pain in the stomach occurs due to food poisoning, then it is necessary to rinse the stomach. To do this, you need to drink at least one and a half liters of water with a small amount of soda added and induce vomiting. For greater effectiveness, it is recommended to repeat the procedure. After this, you can drink activated carbon or some other sorbents. Then you should restore the water-salt balance by drinking large amounts of water with a small addition of salt.
When the stomach hurts severely due to gastritis, it is allowed to take De-nol, which has an astringent effect and protects damaged areas on the mucous membrane from the negative effects of hydrochloric acid. It is also allowed to take antacid medications that neutralize aggressive gastric juice. Since very often the stomach hurts greatly due to overeating, enzyme preparations that speed up the digestion process can help in this case.
Drinking regime
Water performs important functions in the human body. It normalizes the functioning of systems and removes harmful substances from the body, regulates digestion, and maintains a normal pH environment. The water should be without gas. For gastric ulcers, it is recommended to use mineral water with a low salt content.
The permissible amount of water per day is two liters. It is important to drink boiled water at room temperature. It is advisable to use it before meals. For gastritis, you need to drink 30 minutes before meals.
What to do at home if your stomach hurts
At home, when your stomach hurts badly, you can use folk remedies that are time-tested and have proven themselves. Effective are special tinctures and teas that help normalize acidity and, therefore, reduce pain.
St. John's wort tincture is a very effective remedy.
. It can be used regularly for stomach pain. To prepare, you need to take 100 g of dry St. John's wort herb and add half a liter of alcohol. The mixture should brew for several days in a dark, cold room. After straining, it can be used to relieve pain. To do this, a teaspoon of the healing agent must be diluted with 100 g of boiled water and drunk. As a rule, pain in the stomach area disappears almost immediately.
An effective folk remedy that can be consumed several times a day is chamomile tea
. This drink is also a very good preventative against abdominal pain. Plantain decoction has a similar effect. Plantain leaves can be brewed with green tea. Before drinking, honey is added to the drink to improve the taste if there is no allergy to it. Typically, it is recommended to drink half a glass of herbal teas before each meal.
Folk remedies
A natural pharmacy contains medicinal herbs that can cure any disease, if it is not in advanced form. Folk remedies have not lost their relevance today.
Decoction and infusion of medicinal herbs
To relieve unpleasant symptoms and in the process of fighting emerging diseases, decoctions are made from the remedies offered by nature.
Calendula
First aid for stomach pain. Acts as a sedative, bactericidal, laxative.
It’s easy to make a decoction: 2 tablespoons of herbs and a liter of water. Boil for 3-4 minutes. Leave for 5 hours. Honey is added. Take half a glass before meals.
St. John's wort
To combat inflammation, you should drink an infusion of St. John's wort. 4 tbsp. medicinal ingredient and 0.5 liters of vodka. Infuse in a dark bottle in a dark place for 4-5 days. Take 25 drops diluted in water after meals.
How to treat a sick stomach
Stomach pain occurs for various reasons. After diagnosis, the doctor prescribes drug treatment, which can be carried out at home.
If gastritis is diagnosed, which is accompanied by unpleasant symptoms, such as belching, heartburn, nausea, then it is necessary to take drugs that inhibit the production of hydrochloric acid ( Omeprazole
) or reduce the acidity of gastric juice.
Thanks to this, it will be possible to reduce irritation of the mucous membrane, and, consequently, prevent the occurrence of pain. The most common antacid drugs are Gastal
,
Almagel
,
De-nol
,
Gastrofarm
.
If pain occurs due to an error in diet, then heaviness in the stomach can be removed with enzyme preparations ( Festal
,
Mezim Forte
,
Pancreatin
).
Treatment of a sick stomach can be carried out with various folk remedies. An anti-inflammatory and disinfecting decoction of a mixture of herbs is very effective.
You need to take:
- Oak bark.
- Dried leaves and flowers of St. John's wort.
- Dry yarrow inflorescences.
- Immortelle flowers.
All ingredients are mixed in equal proportions. One tablespoon of the mixture is poured with half a liter of cold water. After this, the product is brought to a boil and simmered for 15 minutes over low heat. Next, the broth should be left covered, covered, for approximately 40 minutes. It is recommended to take this drink throughout the day.
Sea buckthorn oil is very effective for treating a sick stomach. To do this, it is better to purchase berries at the market and squeeze the juice out of them yourself. After the liquid has settled in a dark place, it is necessary to collect the oily film from its surface and take it. You can buy sea buckthorn oil at the pharmacy. The dosage of sea buckthorn oil for treating a sore stomach is one teaspoon before meals three times a day.
For stomach diseases, it is important to follow a strict diet, regardless of the cause of the pathology. If you follow proper nutrition for a long time, you will be able to stabilize the condition and eliminate the occurrence of acute pain.
It is necessary to exclude fatty, fried, spicy, smoked and spicy foods from the diet. In addition, you should avoid rich baked goods, carbonated drinks, strong tea and coffee. The menu should not contain acidic foods that increase the acidity of gastric contents.
White bread croutons can be consumed in any quantity. You should also include steamed meatballs and cutlets from lean meats and fish in your diet. Dishes such as soups and cereals should be prepared for the patient in a slimy or pureed form. Various vegetable purees are beneficial, including potatoes, cabbage, beets and carrots.
Nature of pain
How pain in the stomach is characterized and what sensations arise suggest which organ has been damaged.
Sudden sharp pain
The appearance of sharp and sudden pain in the stomach is associated with several diseases:
- Inflammatory process in the pancreas. The role of the mentioned section of the gastrointestinal tract can hardly be overestimated. Thanks to the work of the pancreas, the body digests proteins and regulates the amount of glucose.
- Problems in the gallbladder. Cholecystitis affects the walls of the bladder. More common in women. The disease develops gradually, without showing external signs, which makes diagnosis in the early stages much more difficult.
- Stomach or duodenal ulcer. A popular disease among all segments of the population and age groups. Both adults and children become patients of the gastroenterologist.
These organs are located nearby, so the exact location of the pain syndrome is difficult for a non-specialist to determine. Diseases accompanied by pain, which is characterized as sharp, are treated differently. If the patient decides to treat himself, he should be extremely careful when choosing painkillers. It is better to consult a doctor for advice.
Cutting pain
Abdominal pain is caused by:
- Burn of the internal walls of the organ. Medicine distinguishes between thermal and chemical types of burns. Thermal - appear if you eat too hot food or drink boiling water. A chemical burn is a consequence of acids, alkalis or concentrated alcohol-containing solutions entering the stomach. This occurs due to improper storage of household chemicals: solvents, pipe cleaners, powders or washing liquids. A chemical burn leads to the death of organ tissue and the appearance of holes in the walls leading into the free cavity of the peritoneum.
- Poisoning. Poor quality food, unwashed or expired foods, exotic fruits lead to the appearance of toxins in the stomach. They are absorbed into the blood and distributed to other internal organs, which provokes a disorder of the digestive system and dysfunction of the body as a whole.
If there is a small child or a person suffering from mental disorders in the family, you will have to make sure that household chemicals and other toxic substances are kept out of reach and out of sight.
Chemical burns cannot be eliminated at home. It is necessary to urgently call an ambulance or it is recommended to get to the hospital yourself.
Dagger sharp pain
A perforated ulcer of the stomach or intestines provokes pain, characterized as dagger-like, sharp. A hole (perforation) appears in the organ, through which gastric juice and contents leak into the free abdominal cavity. Getting on the peritoneum and internal organs, it causes an inflammatory process. Unfortunately, it is not recommended to treat such a disease at home; you will need to seek medical help, otherwise death is common.
Severe burning sensation
Discomfort in the stomach, accompanied by a burning sensation, indicates a common disease - gastritis. The mucous membrane on the walls of the organ is subject to deformation, and the process of digesting food is disrupted. The cause of the illness is Helicobacter pylori infection. Once in the stomach, the bacterium chooses the mucous membrane as its habitat. As the infection multiplies, it produces ammonia, which reduces the acidity of gastric juice. The cells of the stomach are gradually destroyed, forming a focus for the developing inflammatory process.
Other causes of gastritis:
- Dietary disorder or lack thereof. Eating dry food or snacking on the run, overeating, eating fatty foods, or being on a starvation diet, a person creates additional stress on the stomach. Digesting food becomes a stressful process. Symptoms appear immediately after eating or during prolonged fasting.
- Smoking.
- Alcohol abuse.
Gastritis of the stomach in humans
Cramping pain
A person complains of the appearance of sharp and sudden spasms in the upper abdomen. These are signs of serious illness:
- Ulcerative phenomena in the stomach and intestines.
- An inflammatory process occurring in the duodenum.
In most cases, inflammation of organs occurs for various reasons, but the symptoms that appear are always the same - cramping. If the cause of the pain syndrome is a peptic ulcer, symptoms will appear within 2 hours after eating or at night. It is necessary to contact a gastroenterologist for consultation and examination. The disease requires treatment not only at home, but surgical intervention is possible.
Shooting pain sensations
A person complains of shooting pain that appeared suddenly and disappeared immediately. There are spasmodic phenomena in the diaphragm or dysfunction of the circulatory system. Perhaps an inflammatory process occurs in the blood vessels. It will be possible to more accurately establish a diagnosis if symptoms appear when inhaling or when changing body posture.
The pain recurs periodically. You can take medications. But repeated “injections” need to be treated not only at home. Consultation with a doctor is required.
It's a dull pain
Constant, incessant aching pain indicates possible ailments:
- Polyps in the stomach.
- Malignant tumor.
Neoplasm in the stomach
These are dangerous diseases. Oncology does not affect one organ; from the stomach the tumor goes to nearby parts and gradually spreads throughout the body.
Spasmodic intense pain
The nature of the pain indicates the presence of infections in the digestive organs. Helicobacter pylori is considered to be the causative agent of the disease, but other pathogens can also penetrate the body, leading to the destruction of the intestinal microflora. The result is not only pain:
- Heartburn. The contents of the stomach are thrown into the esophagus, as a result, the acid of the gastric juice affects the walls of the organ, and a burning sensation is felt. Partial damage occurs in the stomach, and subsequently excessive secretion occurs.
- Belching. A sign of a functional organ disorder. Decreased tone and the presence of excess air in the intestines provoke an unpleasant phenomenon. Depending on the smell of belching, the true illness is determined.
- Nausea and vomiting. The body’s natural reaction to the ingress of pathogenic flora. Trying to remove toxins.
Relieving pain in the upper abdomen
Such symptoms are characteristic of colitis or damage to the large intestine. At first the pain is intense. After a few days it weakens, but does not stop.
Sharp umbilical pain radiating up the abdomen
Inflammatory processes occurring in the appendix of the cecum are possible. If there is pain in the navel area and radiating to the upper abdomen on the right side, you should call an ambulance. You should not take pills for pain, since after taking painkillers it is impossible to effectively diagnose the cause of the unpleasant sensation. If the spasms are strong and cannot be tolerated, it is permissible to drink No-shpa, an antispasmodic medicine that will not affect the diagnosis.
Inflammation of the appendix
In addition to appendicitis, similar symptoms appear with:
- Irritable bowel syndrome;
- Thrombi in the vessels supplying blood to the intestinal tract;
- Abdominal aortic dissection;
- Mechanical injury to internal organs of the gastrointestinal tract;
- Intestinal obstruction;
- Ischemia;
- Nervous diseases;
- Allergies.
