Why is the top of my stomach hurting
How to Know if Stomach Pain is Serious
Medical City Healthcare take care
How to Know if Stomach Pain is Serious
- So the first thing a patient has to do
when they develop abdominal pain
is to characterize the type of pain.
There are three things that you should look for.
Number one is what type of pain is it?
Is it a dull, achy pain that is constant?
Or is it more of a sharp stabbing pain that comes and goes?
Number two is you should realize
where the pain is arising from.
Is it in the upper part of the abdomen,
the lower part of the abdomen,
on the right side of the abdomen or the left side?
Because the abdomen has multiple different organs
and as such, any organ can cause abdominal pain.
So if you recognize the location of the pain,
you can recognize the origin of the pain
and that can give you information
if you need to seek medical attention.
Number three is you have to know
if the pain is associated with any other symptoms.
Typically, abdominal pain is associated
with other nonspecific symptoms like nausea,
like vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, you feel bloated,
you might have a little bit of indigestion as well.
So if any of these symptoms are associated with it,
then you have to take that into account.
As mentioned, majority of abdominal pains are self-limiting
and they're treated non-surgically.
However, the most important aspect about abdominal pain
is to realize, when do you seek medical attention.
When do you go to the emergency room?
When do you feel that you should have a surgeon
look into your pain so we can treat it appropriately?
The few things that you should look for
is if you have constant abdominal pain
that has not gotten better after a few hours,
or even maybe up to a day,
then you should seek medical attention
either with your primary care physician
or go to the emergency room.
Number two is if the symptoms are associated
with high fever that is constant,
that needs to be addressed right away as well.
Number three, if you feel there's a change
in characteristics of your pain
where the pain starts out dull,
then you start developing sharp, achy pain,
or where the pain starts in one area
and then progresses into another area
or the intensity of the pain increases,
you should seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Medical City Healthcare take care
MedicalCityHealthcare.com/TakeCare
