Abdominal pain

Over time everyone gets some form of abdominal pain. It is also called bellyache or stomachache. The pain can be there all the time or come and go and can be mild or severe. It can also be short lived (acute) lasting for a few hours to days or can last for weeks or months (chronic). The causes of abdominal pain vary from simple things such as indigestion to life threatening conditions.

Symptoms

Symptoms that require immediate surgical attention with the abdominal pain include severe pain such that you cannot move without causing more pain (peritonitis), bleeding from the back passage, fever and/or severe pain when you touch your tummy. Swelling of the tummy, persistent nausea and vomiting, yellow skin and/or weight loss are also symptoms requiring urgent surgical care.

Diagnosis

A careful history of your symptoms will be taken and your tummy will be examined. An examination of the back passage using a proctoscopy and/or rigid sigmoidoscopy may also be required. Depending on the findings in order to confirm the diagnosis and exclude other conditions further tests may be required including blood tests, urine tests, a pregnancy test, scans and/or endoscopic tests (colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, oesophagogastroscopy). Any test arranged and the rationale behind them will be explained to you.

Treatment options

Once the results from the above investigations are obtained you will be seen at the clinic and depending on the findings and the diagnosis the appropriate treatment will be discussed with you.