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Pain after eating in the stomach
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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The localization of pain after ingestion in the stomach is the most common, since it is into this hollow muscular organ of the human digestive system that everything that we eat gets to us. But you are deeply mistaken if you think that after a meal, pain can not arise anywhere else ... For example, after a meal, the head may ache - with high blood pressure or high blood sugar ...
But we investigate the pain after eating in the stomach, which is the most important function - the hydrolysis of food consumed by various digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid, which are part of the gastric juice. Moreover, the work of the stomach does not end there: the chemically processed food should be turned into liquid or semi-liquid contents (chyme) and move it further - into the duodenum.
Causes of pain after eating in the stomach
Among the causes of pain in the stomach appear stress, poor food and intolerance to certain food ingredients, heartburn, overeating, taking medications, gastritis and other gastrointestinal pathologies of various etiologies. Depending on the causes of pain after eating in the stomach start at different times and have different duration and intensity.
Pain after eating in the stomach can cause rotavirus, and then gastric flu or otherwise - rotavirus gastroenteritis is diagnosed. In this disease, symptoms in the form of diarrhea, pain in the stomach and stomach, nausea and vomiting occur 4-5 hours after the virus enters the body.
Inflammation of the stomach and small intestine - acute gastroenteritis - often accompanied by pain after eating. This disease can develop after consuming poor-quality products, because of the lack of regular food or long-term food in a dry-sink.
Intolerance to lactose, that is, sugar contained in milk and dairy products, leads to quite intense pain in the stomach after eating, and also causes bloating and flatulence.
Gluten enteropathy or celiac disease, that is, autoimmune disorders when a protein of wheat, rye and barley (gluten) enters the stomach causes not only pain after eating in the stomach and inflammation of the mucous membrane of the small intestine. In this disease (which is not always recognized by physicians), a decrease in body weight, anemia, chronic fatigue and irritability are observed in a person, mucosal lesions in the mouth, as well as pain in the joints are possible.
Overeating leads to pain after eating in the stomach for a very simple reason: the stomach is full, his normal work is broken, and the body gives a signal about the excessive amount of eaten. In the end, how else to get a man to stop digging his own grave with a spoon and fork ... Especially if the appetite is played before bed, and a person with a full stomach makes him work "overtime".
Pain after eating in the stomach, in its upper part, may be a consequence of gastroesophageal reflux disease, that is, caused by heartburn. This pathology is due to the fact that part of the contents of the stomach returns to the esophagus, which should normally not be. And this is due to a violation of the motor activity of the digestive tract, in which the lower esophageal sphincter (muscle ring with valve functions) weakens and ceases to function normally. Complication of this disease often becomes acute or chronic inflammation of the esophagus (esophagitis).
The cause of pain after eating in the stomach may be irritable stomach syndrome. Experts argue that from time to time with him face every eight people out of ten. The main signs of irritable stomach syndrome include: stomach pain and nausea immediately after eating, belching for an hour after eating, stomach cramps, heartburn (after eating any food). The development of this syndrome contributes to difficult digestible food - all fatty, peppery and salty.
After eating, pain in the stomach may be a symptom of inflammation of the mucous membrane of the lower (pyloric) stomach and duodenum gastroduodenitis.
Pain after eating in the stomach is a companion of gastritis and gastric ulcer. In the first case, the stomach starts to ache in a few minutes after eating (especially if the food was acidic, acute or rough in consistency). In the second case, a person feels pain in the stomach 30-60 minutes after eating (or on an empty stomach). By the way, more recently, physicians believed that hydrochloric acid of gastric juice was responsible for these diseases (which corroded the walls of the stomach). However, in the mid-1990s, it became clear that the cause of these pathological conditions was the helicobacter pylori (Helicobacter pylori) microbe, which lives inside most people's stomach (but which does not manifest itself to everyone). This microorganism is protected from the action of hydrochloric acid by special enzymes, which damage the mucous membrane and make it available for the introduction of the microbe. As a result - the appearance on the mucosa of inflammatory foci, and then ulcers.
Another reason for the appearance of pain after eating in the stomach can serve as the presence of stones in the gallbladder. It is cholelithiasis or calculous cholecystitis. The stones cause mucosal edema and can block the bile duct, which leads to pain in the upper abdomen on the right, especially after fatty foods. Violation of the outflow of bile from the gallbladder leads to its inflammation - cholecystitis. In the acute form of this disease, patients complain of nausea and sharp pains in the abdomen to the right, which are given to all nearby organs, to the right shoulder and shoulder blade.
The most severe pain after eating in the stomach occurs with pancreatitis, that is, the inflammatory process in the pancreas. The pains torment a person for several days, during which food intake becomes almost impossible.
Despite the fact that the thyroid gland is located in the neck, the problems associated with it can affect everything that is located below - including on the stomach. If the thyroid gland produces too much hormone (hyperthyroidism), it speeds up the work of the digestive tract; if the secretory function of this gland is reduced (hypothyroidism), then the digestive tract works in a slowed-down mode. Both can be the cause of pain after eating in the stomach, as well as gastric spasms, diarrhea, constipation and flatulence.
There are almost no medicines without side effects, and quite often their side effects include stomach pains - after eating and after taking the drug after the food. This sins many medications to prevent osteoporosis, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, hormones, etc.
Finally, aching pain after eating in the stomach can be caused by stress, which, together with the hormonal, nervous and vascular systems of our body, reacts and digestive. It's not for nothing that the stomach is called an "indicator of stress". When a person falls into a stressful situation or is in a state of protracted psychoemotional instability, the stomach "fails" in the work of his stomach: the innervation of the gastric mucosa breaks down, which leads to a pyloric spasm and strong pain sensations. In addition, the level of production of stomach hydrochloric acid - regardless of the amount of food consumed - significantly increases.
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Symptoms of pain after eating in the stomach
In clinical practice, the nature of pain after eating in the stomach, as well as the time of its appearance, doctors can presumably determine which symptom of the disease this pain is.
So, pulling, pressing or sharp pain after eating in the stomach - an hour or two after breakfast, lunch or dinner, and even accompanied by an acidic eructation or heartburn - gives all grounds to assume stomach ulcer. With a perforated ulcer, the pain in the stomach is intolerable and can cause painful shock.
And if the stomach starts to ache (or rather, ache a bit) immediately after eating, then it is most likely gastritis. Aching pain after eating in the stomach is also characteristic for chronic gastritis.
When the dull pain after eating in the stomach begins a couple of hours after eating and is localized just to the right of the middle of the abdominal wall, and then passes into cramping and stitching pain, then it is a duodenal ulcer.
Burning throbbing pain in the stomach after eating shows such a rare disease as a solaris. Patients suspect that they have gastritis or stomach ulcers, but a thorough examination of gastroenterologists does not reveal any violations of the functions inherent in the same peptic ulcer. In this case, the rezi under the ribs and in the navel can radiate into the thoracic spine and lower abdomen, and a pain attack can last several hours. Solyarit is a pathological process in the solar plexus, arising for many reasons, including inflammation of the peritoneum and inflammation of the tissues surrounding the internal organs of the abdominal cavity (perivisceritis); with recurrences of stomach ulcers; with injuries; with repeated surgical interventions; with tuberculosis.
Symptoms of pain after eating in the stomach are also present in malignant tumors of the digestive system, but initially patients with such a diagnosis are harboring a feeling of discomfort in the stomach, heartburn, weakness, unreasonable weight loss and loss of appetite.
Who to contact?
Diagnosis of pain after eating in the stomach
To determine the cause of pain after eating in the stomach, you need to turn to a narrow specialist - a doctor-gastroenterologist. Diagnosis of pain after eating in the stomach begins with a patient's examination (with palpation of the abdominal cavity), collecting an anamnesis and finding out a detailed list of complaints.
Assigning a general blood test and a blood test for the biochemical composition. A check is made for the presence of pathogens - microbes and viruses, as well as for dysbacteriosis. In the case of chronic pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, patients undergo fecal analysis.
Investigation of organs located in the abdominal cavity is performed with the help of ultrasound; pathology of the digestive tract helps identify the X-ray examination.
Fibrogastroduodenoendoskopiya (FGDS) is used as a key diagnostic method for gastritis: examination of the gastric mucosa is performed using a probe, which allows you to take a sample for histological examination and make a correct diagnosis. Endoscopy with taking a sample of the mucosa is also used in the diagnosis of gastroduodenitis.
Treatment of pain after eating in the stomach
The treatment of stomach pain associated with heartburn is aimed at neutralizing gastric acid (antacids), as well as reducing the secretion of hydrochloric acid. To drink soda from heartburn doctors do not recommend: from its frequent use there can be ulcers on mucous a stomach, and also an eructation and bloating. And in the list of antacids recommended by physicians appear, Gastal, Almagel and Almagel-A.
Gastal in the form of tablets has an adsorbent, enveloping and local anesthetic effect. It neutralizes free hydrochloric acid in the stomach and lowers the activity of gastric juice. It is taken for 1-2 tablets two hours after meals and at night; with gastric ulcer - 30 minutes before meals; the maximum single dose is 3-4 tablets; with maintenance therapy - on a tablet three times a day for two months. In pregnancy, take this medication is contraindicated.
Suspension for ingestion Almagel also neutralizes free hydrochloric acid in the stomach; has an enveloping, adsorbing action and protects the gastric mucosa. Adults and children older than 15 years take 5-10 ml (1-2 scoops) 3-4 times a day - 45-60 minutes after meals and in the evening before bedtime. The dose for children 10-15 years is half the dose for adults. The drug is contraindicated in pregnant women and children under 10 years. The side effect of this drug is expressed in constipation, which after a decrease in dose pass.
The drug Almagel-A in its composition contains an additional component - local anesthetic benzocaine. This drug is recommended for peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum in the acute phase, acute and chronic gastritis with increased and normal gastric acidity, gastroesophageal reflux disease, enteritis and duodenitis. Almagel A is taken in the same way as Almagel. The course of treatment is 7 days, after which they switch to Almagel treatment (within two to three weeks).
With chronic gastritis and pancreatitis, the enzyme preparation Mezim forte (dragee) is used. The active substance of this drug is pancreatin (from the pancreas of pigs). Mezim is recommended for insufficient secretory and digestive capacity of the stomach and intestines. Dosage is determined depending on the severity of the disease, the usual dose for adults - 1-2 tablets before meals, washed down with plenty of water.
In the treatment of chronic gastritis, steroid hormones are also used that stimulate the adrenal cortex and promote the normalization of the secretory functions of the gastric mucosa.
For the treatment of pain after eating in the stomach with gastroenteritis, doctors recommend taking the same drugs based on enzymes, astringents and adsorbents. And from home remedies phytotherapists are advised to drink mint infusion, for the preparation of which a tablespoon of dry grass is brewed with a glass of boiling water, insists half an hour and is taken by a third glass once a day.
And with irritable stomach syndrome helps infusion of chamomile pharmacy: a tablespoon of dried flowers for a glass of boiling water (drink several sips three times a day after meals).
A proven alternative for normalizing the work of the gastrointestinal tract and treating pain after eating in the stomach is an infusion of cumin fruit that relieves spasm. One teaspoon of cumin should be brewed with a glass of steep boiling water, let it brew for 20-30 minutes. Add another 100 ml of boiled water and drink half a glass twice a day.
Prevention of pain after eating in the stomach
The famous physician Sun Suimyao, who lived in medieval China, wrote in his work "A Thousand Gold Recipes" that rational nutrition is the basis of human health.
Prevention of pain after eating in the stomach and all diseases of the digestive system is reduced to a few simple rules:
- use only healthy food. Do not eat fatty, smoked, hot and salty, as well as semi-finished products and canned food;
- To observe a diet at which last reception of food should occur not less, than for three hours prior to a dream;
- do not overeat, eat a little (in divided portions), but at least five times a day;
- use at least 1.5 liters of fluid during the day;
- after a meal not fit on the sofa, and move at least 10-15 minutes.
Following these rules for the prevention of pain after eating in the stomach is a real way to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal pathology and many other serious illnesses.