The REAL Cause of Abdominal Pain and Bloating – Dr. Berg
While the location and pattern of abdominal pain can provide important clues, its time course is particularly useful when determining its cause.
Acute abdominal pain develops and often resolves over a few hours to a few days. Chronic abdominal pain may be intermittent (episodic), meaning it may come and go. This type of pain may be present for weeks to months, or even years. Some chronic conditions cause progressive pain, which steadily gets worse over time.Causes can range from minor conditions that resolve without any treatment to serious medical emergencies, including:
Abdominal aortic aneurysm
Appendicitis
Cholangitis (bile duct inflammation)
Cholecystitis
Cystitis (bladder inflammation)
Diabetic ketoacidosis
Diverticulitis
Duodenitis (inflammation in the first part of the small intestine)
Ectopic pregnancy (in which the fertilized egg implants and grows outside of the uterus, such as in a fallopian tube)
Fecal impaction (hardened stool that can’t be eliminated)
Heart attack
Injury
Intestinal obstruction
Intussusception (in children)
Kidney infection (pyelonephritis)
Kidney stones
Liver abscess (pus-filled pocket in the liver)
Mesenteric ischemia (decreased blood flow to the intestines)
Mesenteric lymphadenitis (swollen lymph nodes in the folds of membrane that hold the abdominal organs in place)
Mesenteric thrombosis (blood clot in a vein carrying blood away from your intestines)
Pancreatitis
Pericarditis (inflammation of the tissue around the heart)
Peritonitis (infection of the abdominal lining)
Pleurisy (inflammation of the membrane surrounding the lungs)
Pneumonia
Pulmonary infarction (loss of blood flow to the lungs)
Ruptured spleen
Salpingitis (inflammation of the fallopian tubes)
Sclerosing mesenteritis
Shingles
Spleen infection
Splenic abscess (pus-filled pocket in the spleen)
Torn colon
Urinary tract infection (UTI)
Viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu)