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Abdominal pain - causes and treatment
Abdominal pain is more common in women than in men, but it affects men as well. Typical for women are such complaints before and during menstruation, typical of men they are in diseases of the prostate and testes. Urinary problems and diseases of the urinary tract as frequent triggers affect both sexes. Abdominal complaints can also have psychological causes.
contents
- The abdomen - What is it?
- symptoms
- Overview Abdominal Pain - The Most Important Facts
- Causes in both sexes
- Causes of pelvic pain in women
- Abdominal pain in men
- Other causes of man and woman
- The diagnosis
- The treatment
The abdomen - What is it?
Abdomen is an antiquated term. Doctors speak of lower abdomen. These include the genitals of man and woman, the urinary bladder and urethra, as well as the lower intestinal tract and the pubic region. This is the name of the organs that cause pain, which we call abdominal pain.
Abdominal pain is a relatively widespread symptom, especially among women. (Image: dmitrimaruta / fotolia.com) symptoms
Abdominal pain can occur unilaterally or throughout the lower abdomen. The most common pain is stinging or pulling. The symptoms can be acute, chronic or cyclical. Typical cyclic pain is the recurring pain before and during the period. Lower abdominal pain can be colicky, dull, spastic or sharp.
They can occur as a stand-alone symptom, but if accompanied by diarrhea, constipation, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, drowsiness, fatigue, head, chest or leg pain. If serious underlying diseases are present, even a shock condition can occur. Often the form pain, their exact localization and the concomitant symptoms give indications of the cause.
Overview Abdominal Pain - The Most Important Facts
On the one hand, women and men have sex-specific triggers for abdominal pain: women have menstrual cramps, pregnancies and the female genitalia, and in men, especially diseases of the prostate and testes.
Pain in the lower abdomen during pregnancy is normal, but severe and chronic pain may indicate an ectopic pregnancy, premature birth or miscarriage.
Abdominal pain can be from organs that all human beings have, for example, inflammation of the urinary tract, intestinal tract, kidney, urinary or bladder stones.
In case of acute and severe pain you should definitely consult a doctor. In an emergency, these are diseases that destroy their fertility.
Inguinal hernia is a possible cause of abdominal pain in men and women. (Image: nd3000 / fotolia.com) Causes in both sexes
Men and women may suffer from tumors (for example, in the intestine), inguinal hernia, pyelonephritis, urinary or kidney stones, or, although rarely, inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.
Causes of pelvic pain in women
Pains in the lower abdomen in women can either emanate from the intestine or from the organs that derive the urine. In women, the trigger may also lie on the internal sex organs. These include uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes.
Genital causes are, for example, inflamed ovaries and fallopian tubes as well as fallopian tubes or peritoneal pregnancies. Non-genital causes may be urinary tract infections, constipation or an inflamed appendix.
menstrual pain
Pain before or during the period are the most common causes of lower abdominal pain in women. They manifest as spasmodic complaints in the abdomen and back during menstruation or the week before.
If this pain is particularly severe, this may indicate endometriosis. In this disease, uterine lining is distributed outside the uterus, usually in the nearby abdomen, but also in the peritoneum and in the small pelvis. The uterine lining responds to the monthly period and also bleeds outside the uterus, resulting in severe pain during menstruation and a puncture in the abdomen.
In many women, menstruation is accompanied by severe pain in the abdomen. (Image: pathdoc / fotolia.com) Ovarian cysts
Cysts on the ovaries are normal, and many women have such small cysts without noticing them. If a cyst stabs blood vessels, because it twists, the result is often severe pain in the lower abdomen.
ectopic pregnancy
Sometimes a fertilized egg does not nest in the uterus, but in the mucous membrane of the fallopian tubes. This is a serious illness. Extreme pain, infection and bleeding are typical of a ruptured fallopian tube.
Infections of the ovaries and fallopian tubes
Infections threaten when germs from the vagina migrate from the uterus to the ovaries. Most of these are chlamydia, more rarely gonococci. Such inflammation is manifested by severe lower abdominal pain, which can be either one-sided or bilateral. Accompanying symptoms are discharge and spotting.
uterine prolapse
Pain in the abdomen is associated with a feeling of pressure here. Add to that a feeling of fullness "as if the belly bursts". Also typical are back pain and urgency.
Inflammation of the uterus
Endometritis occurs when germs from the vagina infect the uterus. The pain in the abdomen is burning. There is vaginal discharge, severe itching and bleeding outside of the period.
pelvic inflammatory disease
Pelvic inflammatory disease refers to inflammation of the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries. In addition to the severe pain here infertility can be the result.
cancer
Even a cancer in the vagina or cervix causes pain.
Lower abdominal pain in pregnancy
Every woman has pain in the lower abdomen during pregnancy. The pain in the first two-thirds of pregnancy is not dangerous. These are due to the fact that the fetus grows, the uterus expands, and thus strains the ligaments, muscles and veins. Also, the tension pain at the end of pregnancy is not a symptom of a disease. Spasmodic pains, birth pains, initiate the birth.
Abdominal pain is not uncommon in pregnancy, but it may indicate severe discomfort. (Image: nd3000 / fotolia.com) Causes of unusually severe pain during pregnancy, in addition to an ectopic pregnancy, a threatened miscarriage, a womb rupture or a non-functioning placenta.
Normal and dangerous lower abdominal pain in pregnant women
If the pain in the lower abdomen remains short term and leaves no chronic problems, there is no need to worry. Such pain usually passes when the pregnant woman is resting. Signals for serious causes are
- fever,
- burning pain while peeing,
- chills,
- strong discharge,
- bleeding,
- paleness,
- persistent weakness,
- Fatigue and drowsiness,
- dizziness,
- flickering
- and fainting.
In these cases, you should immediately go to the gynecologist or gynecologist. If acute pain in the lower abdomen is accompanied by diffuse concomitant symptoms, it is a medical emergency. You should go to the hospital immediately: Miscarriage or premature birth is possible.
Symptoms of imminent miscarriage or premature birth
Premature birth to the twelfth week of pregnancy is characterized by cramps in the center of the lower abdomen and bleeding. The same applies to a premature birth until the 23rd week, but here are the bleeding stronger. Between the 23rd and the 37th week, the pains extend to the pelvis, lower abdomen and back and are often accompanied by diarrhea.
If such symptoms occur at any stage, please consult a doctor directly. Most of the time it is not a premature or miscarriage, but you have no inhibitions, the medicine "useless" claim. Better you go to the doctor too much than lose your child. Today many premature births can be prevented by gynecology.
From the 37th week, the cramps and contractions in the abdomen are not an indication of an early or miscarriage, but on the "normal" birth. Back pain is also included.
Prevent pregnancy pain
If you feel abdominal pain during your pregnancy, have a clarifying conversation with gynecologist or gynecologist. This helps, above all, to reduce the psychological burden. Her body is changing now, and bodies and psyche are closely related biochemically. Simply clarifying whether everything is alright for them makes it easier for many to deal with pregnancy.
Also, the "normal" pain can be strong or strongly perceived by you, if you are sensitive to pain. Sometimes the doctor then prescribes magnesium supplements to relieve cramps.
If everything is fine with them, you can control the complaints with simple home remedies:
- Bathe in warm but not hot.
- Lie in bed with a blanket or a hot water bottle.
- Treat yourself to peace. Lie down, even if you feel no pain, and put your legs up so that the blood flows into the body.
Possible triggers of abdominal pain that affect only men include inflammation of the testicles, testicular torsion or even diseases of the prostate. (Image: estradaanton / fotolia.com) Abdominal pain in men
Certain pains in the abdomen affect only men, as they emanate from male organs. For example:
An inflamed prostate, the prostatitis. Here, bacteria infect the prostate gland. Pain is not only in the abdomen - typical is a pain during urination and ejaculation.
Inflammation of the testes and epididymis, whose symptoms are similar to those of an inflamed bladder: In the urine is blood, the victims must often go to the toilet.
A testicular torsion, which occurs mostly in boys. Here, a testicle twists on its own strand. Extreme testicular pain and lower abdominal pain are the symptoms. It is a medical emergency. The sufferer must go to the hospital immediately, because after only a few hours the testicle can die off.
A prostate cancer disease in which pelvic pain is a warning sign that comes with luck just in time, but usually too late. This is the most common cancer in men and it is usually only in the advanced stage by pain during urination and in the lower abdomen.
Other causes of man and woman
An appendicitis appears with pain in the upper abdomen and stomach. These then migrate to the right side of the abdomen and are accompanied by nausea and lack of appetite.
Inflamed mucous membranes in the large intestine are reported with a puncture in the abdomen, in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, this stinging is convulsive.
Intestinal tumors lead to blood in the stool and cramps in the lower abdomen in late stages.
A hernia indicates a pulling pain in the lower abdomen.
An intestinal obstruction triggers very strong stinging pain in the abdomen, the affected can not empty their intestines and vomit. This medical emergency must be rectified immediately.
Also a medical emergency are clogged arteries in the intestine, which lead to severe pain in the intestinal tract.
Pain in the urinary tract
Lower abdominal pain around the urinary tract also affects both sexes. These can extend into the bladder. Typical are pain in urinating, blood in the urine and a dull pain in the abdomen. Ureteral stones or bladder stones, on the other hand, trigger a stabbing pain in the lower abdomen.
Renal colic is characterized by cramping pain caused by urine backflow, and bladder cancer is characterized by the appearance of blood in the urine first - without pain. The pain in the lower abdomen will follow later.
The causes of abdominal pain can also affect the kidneys. (Image: psdesign1 / fotolia.com) The diagnosis
- First, a detailed conversation with the doctor or the doctor. These ask about the duration of the pain - is it acute or chronic? Then according to the nature of the complaints. The pain is stinging, oppressive, pulling, dull or burning. Then about the location. If it expands on the entire abdomen, on the right lower abdomen, on the left lower abdomen or concentrates on a certain place.
- After the interview comes the physical examination. Doctor or doctor now palpate the stomach to feel hardening or swelling.
- In women, a gynecological examination of the genitals follows to detect possible diseases of the genital organs. In childbearing women, a pregnancy test is added.
- An ultrasound examination of the abdomen and genitals often provides information about the underlying disease.
- Blood tests, smears of the urethra of the man or the vagina of the woman show caused by bacteria inflammations.
- Examinations of the urine and feces prove possible bacteria, but also blood in the excretions is an indication of the cause.
- If a reasonable suspicion exists, a colonoscopy gives insight into diseases of the intestinal tract.
The treatment
The treatment depends on the cause. Acute pain soothes cramps and painkillers. Bacterially caused infections fight the medicines with medicines, which kill these bacteria, viruses and mushrooms by antiviral and fungicidal means.
Urinary stones either dissolve themselves with the help of medication or the urologist removes them chemically or with focused energy waves.
If necessary, the causes of abdominal pain can only be remedied as part of a surgical procedure, such as in the case of testicular torsion or ectopic pregnancy. (Image: nasimi / fotolia.com) An appendicitis, a testicular torsion or an ectopic pregnancy must be operated on immediately. And even with a hernia an operation is announced. (Dr.Utz Anhalt)