Lower abdominal pain

Pain in the lower abdomen is a rather serious sign of a malfunction of internal systems and organs. Painful sensations arise in this epigastric region due to the fact that there are many nerve receptors in the pelvic organs that are very sensitive to various irritants.

They are also found in large quantities in the connective membrane that covers all the cavity structures and organs of the body (serous membrane). Much less often, pain in the lower abdomen can be provoked by trauma to the outer skin and secondary muscle spasms that occur as a response to inflammation.

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Causes lower abdominal pain

It is necessary to remember the rule, which is standard: any sudden sharp pain in the lower abdomen, which increases, indicates the need for an urgent call to the doctor, emergency care. This is especially important for pains accompanied by a decrease in blood pressure, fainting, nausea or vomiting, defecation with blood clots.

However, other types of pain can also be a sign of both simple ailments and quite serious pathologies, among which the following are possible:

1. Physiological causes include the menstrual cycle, spasm of a “hungry” stomach, muscle spasm caused by unusual physical activity (delayed onset muscle soreness), stretching of the abdominal muscles during the first half of pregnancy, overeating, and stretching of the lower part of the large intestine.
2. Inflammatory process in the female reproductive organs – inflammation of the ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes. Pain in the lower abdomen can be caused by cysts, endometriosis, adhesions and acute colpitis (inflammatory process of the vagina). Such pain is often accompanied by atypical discharge, with an admixture of blood, possibly an increase in body temperature, weakness.
3. Inflammatory process in the urinary tract, kidneys - pyelonephritis, urethritis, cystitis, kidney stones, gout (deposition of urates of uric acid in tissues, bones). Such painful sensations in the lower epigastric region are accompanied by edema, increased body temperature, and impaired urination.
4. Pathological processes in the pelvic organs, both in women and men. Lower abdominal pain can be caused by a scrotal or inguinal hernia, chronic constipation of inflammatory etiology, colitis, inflammation of the intestinal diverticula, intestinal adhesions, dysbacteriosis, idiopathic megacolon - pathological enlargement of the colon (Chagas disease). Lower abdominal pain is combined with a feeling of distension in the intestines, the patient often loses appetite, defecation is difficult and accompanied by sharp pains.
5. Inflammation of the appendix, intestinal obstruction, inflammation of the pathological protrusion of the small intestine (Meckel's diverticula), strangulation (strangulated) obstruction of the sigmoid colon, a ruptured ovarian cyst, strangulated inguinal or scrotal hernia, intestinal bleeding due to perforation of the wall, tubal pregnancy, abdominal (ectopic) - this is not a complete list of causes that threaten not only health, but also life. These pathologies often lead to the development of diffuse inflammation of the entire peritoneum (peritonitis), which can be fatal. In addition to pain, which can have a different nature depending on the cause, a person's body temperature rises, arrhythmia appears, the pulse quickens, the muscles of the anterior part of the peritoneum are compensatorily tense. There may be frequent or uncontrollable vomiting, blood pressure is usually low. These symptoms require immediate medical attention, every minute can be decisive.
6. Infectious processes in the gastrointestinal tract. The pathogen may be different, so in addition to pain, a person may also have vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and flatulence. The temperature rises, but blood pressure, as a rule, does not change. Characteristic signs of an infectious process are nausea and diarrhea.
7. Oncoprocess in the pelvic organs. Among the benign neoplasms that cause pain in the lower abdomen, one can name endometriosis - the scourge of women of the 21st century. Also, the category of relatively safe, curable neoplasms includes prostate adenoma. Any pain in the lower abdomen that does not go away within a week or even two can be a sign of an acute pathological process. You can not delay, you need to see a doctor.

Lower abdominal pain has age-related symptomatic features. It is difficult to objectively assess the nature of pain even for an adult, much less for a child. In children, the pain zone is often localized in the solar plexus due to the high sensitivity of the nerve endings of the entire abdomen. Elderly patients are often overly patient, either due to life experience, but most likely due to the age-related loss of sensitivity of nerve receptors. Old people often endure until the last, lower abdominal pain develops gradually, and medical care is usually surgical, since patients are admitted to a medical institution in a serious condition. Pain in pregnant women is characterized by subjectivity and blurring due to physiological changes in the position of the uterus and nearby organs.

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Symptoms

The nature of the pain directly depends on the cause; pain in the lower abdomen can be like this:

• very sharp, piercing, it is called “dagger-like”, such pain in the lower abdomen occurs and goes away suddenly;
• sudden onset of acute pain in the lower abdomen that lasts for several hours;
• gradually increasing pain in the lower abdomen, it is called chronic pelvic pain;
• localized pain in the lower abdomen - on the right or left side of the abdomen, pain in the pubic area;
• pain in the lower abdomen in the form of contractions, squeezing, transient;
• mild pain in the lower abdomen, aching, dull.

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Diagnostics lower abdominal pain

• Lie on your back and try to relax your abdominal muscles as much as possible while you are in pain.
• Carefully and gently palpate and feel the abdomen to determine the place where it hurts the most.
• Try to describe and determine the nature of the pain yourself - sharp, pulling, bursting, cramping, and so on.
• Determine whether the pain signal is radiating to the side, under the shoulder blade, or to the back.
• Measure your body temperature with a thermometer, record it, and measure your temperature again in an hour. This recommendation does not apply to life-threatening symptoms that require immediate emergency medical attention.
• Remember if there was an objective, natural reason that could provoke pain in the lower abdomen – physical activity, injury, overeating, menstrual cycle.

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Treatment lower abdominal pain

• Pain in the lower abdomen on the right side. Symptoms: pain does not subside, temperature rises, pulse quickens, dry mouth. If you raise your right hand, the pain in the lower abdomen may increase. Possible diagnosis: appendicitis. You need to apply cold to the right side of the abdomen, exclude food, drink and painkillers and call a doctor (ambulance).
• If a hernia has been previously diagnosed and pain in the lower abdomen has appeared in this place, you need to call an ambulance. You cannot eat, drink, including medications, and you should not independently relieve or, in principle, touch the place of the strangulated hernia.
• Acute, "dagger-like" pain in the lower abdomen, spreading from above to the right abdomen. Accompanied by hypertonicity of the abdominal muscles, slow pulse, pale skin, fainting. Perforation of an ulcer (intestine, stomach) is possible. You cannot eat or drink. You must immediately call an ambulance.
• Severe pain in the lower abdomen in the upper right part of the abdomen, increasing when inhaling. Vomiting with bile is possible, which does not bring relief. Such symptoms indicate hepatic colic. You need to take a hepatoprotector, a weak choleretic agent, do not eat food and seek medical help as soon as possible.
• Sharp, pulsating pain in the lower abdomen, radiating to the lower back. Often accompanied by flatulence and constipation. Nausea, fever, urinary disorders and pain in the lower abdomen during this process may indicate renal colic. A warm compress can be applied to the lumbar region and an ambulance can be called.
• Pain in the lower abdomen, as if spreading throughout the lower abdomen, accompanied by vomiting with blood. Defecation is not difficult, but the stool is black. The pulse is rapid, fainting and hypotonic crises are common. Internal intestinal bleeding is possible. It is necessary to urgently call an ambulance; until it arrives, you can put cold on the stomach. Drinking medications, and in general, water is absolutely forbidden. If your mouth is dry, you can moisten your tongue with water, but do not swallow the water.

Lower abdominal pain most often requires medical care, even if the pain symptoms are not obvious. In acute situations, emergency care is needed, in others - the help of the attending gynecologist, especially if we are talking about pregnant women, also pain in the abdomen is a field of activity for a gastroenterologist, an infectious disease doctor. If you listen to the pain signals of your body in a timely manner, then perhaps the help of a surgeon, especially an oncologist, may not be needed.