In case of chronic abdominal pain consult a doctor promptly

Recurrent abdominal pain: When a visit to the doctor is necessary
There is hardly a human being who does not occasionally suffer from abdominal pain. For mild ailments, natural home remedies can often bring relief. But in some cases a doctor should definitely be consulted, experts advise.

Abdominal pain is not the same as abdominal pain
Upper abdominal pain, pain in the lower abdomen or on the left side: There are numerous forms of abdominal pain. It is often difficult for laypersons, despite the location of the symptoms, to draw conclusions, which causes the pain. In a message from the dpa news agency, gastrointestinal physicians explain what sufferers should look for and which symptoms require urgent action.

Every person suffers occasionally from abdominal pain. Often, simple home remedies are enough to relieve the symptoms. However, in some cases sufferers should have the cause of the pain clarified to the doctor.
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The decisive factor is when and how long pain occurs
"Pain in the upper abdomen does not always come from the stomach, even flatulence can be responsible," explains Dagmar Mainz, spokeswoman for the established gastrointestinal physicians. One must even think of a heart attack.

Therefore, it is not decisive when assessing whether abdominal pain is present, but rather when and for how long.

Eating abdominal pain after eating bread or after certain other foods may indicate intolerance, for example.

However, if it hurts after you have not eaten for a long time, the symptoms may come from the duodenum.

In addition, pain in an empty stomach may indicate gastritis. So explained Professor Ulrich Fölsch of the German Society of Internal Medicine (DGIM) in an earlier communication: "The so-called fasting pain is a classic indication of a disorder of the gastric mucosa."

When affected necessarily to the doctor
For mild ailments, for example, as a result of too much food, home remedies for abdominal pain can often bring relief quickly. For very strong or persistent pain, the cause should be clarified necessarily by a physician.

"Patients should go to the doctor if the pain recurs for more than three months," said Mainz in the dpa message. And even if one of the so-called alarm symptoms is added.

These include weight loss, blood in the stool, black stool or anemia.

Patients who sweat a lot at night, are no longer able to perform well, have problems swallowing, feel unusually full after small meals, or often vomit should also seek the advice of a doctor. (Ad)