Abdominal pain is a common symptom associated with many health conditions. The pain can be mild, moderate, or severe and a quick diagnosis of the cause can be life-saving.
The time course of the pain (acute, chronic, or progressive) is very useful in classifying causes of abdominal pain, however, the site of the pain, onset, pattern, and alleviating factors are features that are also important.
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Acute Abdominal Pain
This is abdominal pain that lasts from hours to days. Common causes of acute abdominal pain include:
- Appendicitis
- Cholecystitis
- Ectopic Pregnancy
- Gastroenteritis
- Intestinal obstruction
- Intussusception in children
- Pancreatitis
- Perforated gastric or duodenal ulcer
- Splenic Rupture
- Urinary Tract Infection
Chronic Abdominal Pain
This is abdominal pain that lasts over a period of weeks, months, or years without necessarily getting worse. It is usually episodic with periods of remission. Conditions that present with chronic abdominal pain include:
- Dyspepsia
- Endometriosis
- Gallstones
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
- Inguinal hernia
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
- Peptic ulcer
- Sickle cell anemia
Progressive Abdominal Pain
Abdominal pain is progressive when it worsens over time. It is caused by chronic conditions, some of which include:
- Hepatitis
- Crohn’s disease
- Gastric cancer
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Ovarian cancer
- Lead poisoning
When To See A Doctor
It is important to see a doctor if the pain is severe and unbearable or associated with any fever, nausea, vomiting, bloody stools, weight loss, abdominal swelling, and jaundice.
