What Are Symptoms of Stomach Pain?
Stomach pain, or abdominal pain, can range from bloating and indigestion to severe and sharp, stabbing pain.
Symptoms of stomach pain depend on the cause.
Pain may be dull or sharp, intermittent or constant, mild or severe. Pain may occur in any part of the abdomen, and may also radiate to other areas such as the back, flank, or shoulder.
Symptoms that may accompany stomach pain may include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting (may include vomiting blood)
- Sweating
- Fever
- Chills
- Yellowing skin and eyes (jaundice)
- Feeling unwell (malaise)
- Loss of appetite
- Dark urine
- Light-colored stools
- Abdominal distention/bloating
- Lower extremity swelling (edema)
- Gastrointestinal bleeding
- Indigestion/heartburn
- Shortness of breath
- Changes in taste
- Feeling of fullness
- Weight loss
- Abdominal tenderness
- Urinary frequency or urgency
- Difficulty urinating
- Pain on urination
- Blood in urine
- High-pitched or absent bowel sounds
- Gas (flatulence)
- Fatigue
- Altered mental status
- Low blood pressure (hypotension)
- Bulky, foul-smelling, floating stools
- Altered bowel habits
- Migraines
- Pelvic pain
If you experience any of the following symptoms with stomach pain, see a doctor because these may be a sign of a more serious condition:
- Pain is severe and lasts more than an hour or comes and goes for more than 24 hours
- Pain starts suddenly
- Bloody bowel movements
- Black, tarry stool
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Inability to eat or drink for several hours
- Fever greater than 102°f (39°c)
- Weight loss without trying
- Loss of appetite
- Feeling a lump in the abdomen
What Causes Stomach Pain?
There are numerous causes of stomach pain. It is often helpful to group the cause by the location of the abdomen in which the pain occurs.
Causes of stomach pain in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen include:
- Gallstones
- Acute cholecystitis
- Acute cholangitis
- Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction
- Hepatitis
- Perihepatitis
- Liver abscess
- Budd-Chiari syndrome
- Portal vein thrombosis
- Acute myocardial infarction
- Pancreatitis
- Peptic ulcer disease
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Gastritis/gastropathy
- Functional dyspepsia
- Gastroparesis
Causes of stomach pain in the upper left quadrant of the abdomen are often related to the spleen and include:
- Splenomegaly
- Splenic infarction
- Splenic abscess
- Splenic rupture
Causes of stomach pain in the lower abdomen that are localized to one side include:
- Acute appendicitis
- Diverticulitis
- Kidney stones
- Pyelonephritis
Causes of stomach pain in the lower abdomen that may not always be localized to one side include:
- Cystitis
- Acute urinary retention
- Infectious colitis
Causes of stomach pain that are considered diffuse, meaning they have nonspecific or variable patterns of pain include:
- Intestinal obstruction
- Perforation of gastrointestinal tract
- Mesenteric ischemia
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): ulcerative colitis and Crohn disease
- Viral gastroenteritis
- Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
- Peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis patients
- Cancer
- Celiac Disease
- Ketoacidosis
- Adrenal insufficiency
- Food poisoning
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Constipation
- Diverticulosis
- Lactose intolerance
Causes of abdominal pain in women include:
- Pregnancy/pregnancy complications
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Pelvic inflammatory disease
- Endometriosis
- Endometritis
- Fibroids (leiomyomas)
- Ovarian torsion
- Ruptured ovarian cyst
- Ovarian hyperstimulation
- Ovarian cancer
Causes of abdominal pain in postoperative patients include:
- Postoperative ileus
- Surgical site infections
- Hematoma/seroma formation and nerve injury
How Is Stomach Pain Diagnosed?
The diagnosis of the cause of stomach pain begins with a history and physical exam. Depending on the patient’s symptoms and the location of the abdominal pain, the physical exam may involve:
- Check of vital signs
- Abdominal exam
- Rectal exam
- Pelvic exam
Blood tests to help diagnose the cause of stomach pain include:
- Complete blood count (CBC) with differential
- Electrolytes, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, and glucose
- Aminotransferases, alkaline phosphatase, and bilirubin
- Lipase and/or amylase
- Calcium
- Aminotransferases, alkaline phosphatase, and bilirubin
- Serum iron, total iron binding capacity, and ferritin
- Anti-tissue transglutaminase
- Pregnancy testing for women
Imaging tests to help diagnose the cause of stomach pain include:
- Ultrasound
- Computed tomography (CT) scan
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; including magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography)
- Endoscopy
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
Other tests to help diagnose the cause of stomach pain may include:
What Is the Treatment for Stomach Pain?
Treatment for stomach pain varies widely and depends on the specific cause.
It may involve:
- Dietary changes
- Medications
- Surgery
- Chemotherapy and/or radiation treatments
