Pain in my right side

One of the most frequent and diagnostically important complaints in diseases of the digestive system is pain in the right side. Its correct interpretation is sometimes very difficult, and errors in their assessment that are sometimes made can lead to very serious consequences.

This is explained by the fact that pain in the side occurs not only in various diseases of the digestive organs, but also in diseases of other organs of the abdominal cavity and retroperitoneal space (spleen, kidneys, ureter, bladder, uterine appendages, etc.), diseases of the respiratory and circulatory organs (acute pneumonia, pleurisy, myocardial infarction), diseases of the abdominal wall (for example, hernias ), diseases of the peripheral nervous system ( osteochondrosis of the spine, neurosyphilis), blood diseases ( porphyria, hemorrhagic vasculitis), collagenoses ( nodular periarteritis ), endocrine diseases ( diabetes mellitus ), poisoning with heavy metals, etc. From this it becomes clear that only a thorough analysis of the pain syndrome with the identification of certain of its features will help to avoid an erroneous diagnostic conclusion.

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Causes of pain in the right side

Pain in the right side is most often associated with pathology of the bile ducts ( stones, dyskinesia, inflammation - cholangitis, cholangiocholecystitis, cholecystitis) or liver (hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver abscesses or subdiaphragmatic abscesses, metastatic liver lesions, congestive hepatomegaly ), less often - the colon, right kidney, appendix, pancreas.

In addition to typical attacks of hepatic or biliary colic, diseases of the biliary tract may cause mild, non-attack-like pain, not only in the right side, but also in the epigastric region, often radiating to the back and under the shoulder blade, as well as dyspeptic symptoms. These pains, unlike peptic ulcer disease, are usually provoked not just by food, but by eating a certain type of food (fatty, gas-forming).

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Diseases that are accompanied by pain in the right side

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Ectopic pregnancy

A very common cause of pain in the lower right abdomen (right side) is an ectopic pregnancy.

This is a pathology in which the fertilized egg is not in the uterus, as in a normal pregnancy, but outside of it. For example, in the fallopian tube, as happens in almost 100% of cases of uterine pregnancy. When the fertilized egg grows, the tube becomes too small for it, and the walls of the tube rupture.

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How to recognize an ectopic pregnancy?

This manifests itself first as dull and aching pain in the right side (during the period when the embryo is growing), and then, if the ectopic pregnancy is not diagnosed in time, the pain becomes sharp, very strong, to the point of screaming.

They can radiate to the rectum. This means that the right fallopian tube has ruptured and then the woman's life is counted in minutes and hours. Urgent medical care and surgery are needed. By analogy, with an ectopic pregnancy, pain also appears in the left side.

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More signs of an ectopic pregnancy

Additional symptoms that can help determine an ectopic pregnancy are a delay in menstruation. After diagnosing pregnancy, there will be bloody discharge, scanty and sometimes of medium concentration, nausea, weakness. Be careful with the pain, it can be very sharp and sudden.

If the woman is not helped in time, she may die from an “acute abdomen” and severe blood loss, as doctors characterize this condition.

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Inflammation of the right fallopian tube

This is also a condition in which the pain radiates to the right side from above or below. The pain in this condition is long-lasting, nagging, and does not go away for a long time. This is evidence of inflammation of the right fallopian tube, and is diagnosed as adnexitis.

If the pain is sudden, stabbing, then it is acute adnexitis, that is, the inflammation and change in the tissues of the fallopian tube are already chronic, the process lasts a long time. This condition is longer and more difficult to treat. The pain can radiate to the groin, to the thigh (inner side), to the lower abdomen, to the back below, to the perineum.

Additional symptoms that can help differentiate adnexitis are purulent vaginal discharge or mucus-like discharge, and the temperature may also rise to 38-39 degrees. With suppuration, the pain in the right side may be twitching, lasting for a long time, and it especially intensifies at night. The woman feels weak, there may be vomiting, nausea, headache, and irritability.

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Pain associated with ovarian disease

Pain in the right side, which is associated with ovarian diseases, occurs almost instantly. The right side hurts, the pain is localized below. This is the area of the uterine appendages. There may be a twisted ovarian stalk or an ovarian cyst may burst. Also, a cyst or torsion of the fallopian tube may be the cause of sharp sudden pain.

All these phenomena are very painful and if the woman does not receive medical assistance in time, she may die. Surgery will definitely be required.

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Where does pain come from?

The cause of sharp sudden pain in the right side below, pain radiating to the groin and anus, may be a ruptured ovary. This condition may occur during menstruation, approximately in the middle of the cycle. A woman may die from blood loss if an ambulance is not called in time and the victim is not placed on the operating table.

In addition to severe pain in the right side, the woman develops a high temperature and may have vaginal discharge. In such cases, you need to act immediately: put something cold on your stomach and call a doctor. In no case should you apply hot compresses or a heating pad - this will aggravate and increase internal bleeding.

Acute abdomen, or what to do with appendicitis?

Symptoms in which a woman has pain in the lower abdomen so much that she can barely stand it also indicate acute appendicitis. This condition is called acute abdomen, that is, an emergency condition that requires an immediate call to a doctor.

The pain may not be so sharp at first, but within a few hours or even minutes it can increase significantly. This means that the appendix is inflamed and stretched, the muscle tissue of the ligaments is inflamed.

At first, a woman may not understand where exactly it hurts – the pain may change localization. Then the pain pattern may become clearer. Finally, it is possible to determine exactly what hurts in the right side from above. Time passes, and the pain may go lower, radiating to the groin and rectum.

Additional symptoms of acute appendicitis include tension not only on the right side of the abdomen, but also in the entire abdominal area, the temperature may rise to 39 degrees or higher, and the person may begin vomiting and sweating. In this condition, you should immediately call a doctor.

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Acute cholecystitis and cholelithiasis

Most often, pain in the right side with cholecystitis takes a person into its clutches at night, even during sleep. Without getting into the intestines, bile occupies the bile ducts, and from this it accumulates in them, stretching the lining of the bile ducts. Bile itself is a substance that stings when it gets on the mucous membrane - it has a salt composition. This intensifies the pain.

There may be pain not only under the right hypochondrium, but also under the shoulder blade, and in the upper abdomen, the pain may radiate to the shoulder, as well as the neck. It is very difficult to get rid of it, unless you provide immediate help to the person. In addition to pain, the person is bothered by vomiting, severe nausea, weakness, anxiety.

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When the pain in the right side subsides

As soon as the stone passes its way through the bile duct and stops, the bile stabilizes its flow, its level returns to normal, there is no more accumulation of bile, therefore, the pain also gradually subsides. It can stop tormenting a person immediately, unexpectedly, as soon as the stone stops moving through the duct.

There is no more pain under the ribs, only a feeling of heaviness remains, which will also gradually disappear. But do not be deceived: the gallbladder disease has not gone away, and the person still needs medical help.

Other symptoms

If acute cholecystitis is accompanied by inflammation of the gallbladder and its ducts, pain under the right hypochondrium is accompanied by fever, high temperature up to 39 degrees, severe fatigue. This means that toxins along with bile have entered the abdominal area and caused poisoning.

If the pain under the ribs is not sharp and not acute, it may be a consequence of the liver capsule being stretched, and the organ having significantly increased in size, and in addition, also become inflamed. With such symptoms, hepatitis is diagnosed.

Additional symptoms of hepatitis are the skin and whites of the eyes turning yellow (which is why people call this disease jaundice ). This means that the liver cells are damaged, and bile and its metabolic products have entered the blood. This causes the skin and mucous membranes of the eyes to change color.

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Shingles

This disease is accompanied by an inflammatory process in the spinal ganglia, the nerves that are in the intercostal area also become inflamed. Shingles due to the effect of the herpes virus on all internal organs and tissues.

Localization of the rash - the skin reacts to the herpes virus in those places where the nerve fibers are located, small air bubbles appear on them, and outwardly this manifests itself as red pimples.

Symptoms of this disease, in addition to pain in the right hypochondrium, include skin rashes (small red pimples), severe weakness, sweating, irritability and a body temperature of approximately 37 to 38 degrees.

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Renal colic

It bothers patients after they overdid it with liquids - drank a lot of water, or compotes, or soda, or juices, and the kidneys could not cope with the load. Renal colic can occur suddenly after work overloads, when the body received a lot of physical stress.

Renal colic is insidious and can occur even when a person is simply resting – the cause may be toxins and inflammation of internal organs, the consequences of tuberculosis.

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Diseases of the ureter

The ureter can hurt and cause pain in the right side due to the fact that fluid accumulates in the urinary tract, which leads to swelling and pain. There are many nerve endings in the kidneys, and therefore swelling of the kidney capsule can also cause pain in the right side (as well as in the left).

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Urolithiasis

Kidney pain can be so severe that a person cannot even find a comfortable position to relieve the pain. When a stone moves along the ureter, it also causes unbearable pain. It radiates to the lower abdomen, to the groin.

When the stone comes out and takes a permanent position, the pain subsides as abruptly as it began. It can change its character from sharp, acute and cutting to dull, aching, but long-lasting.

The right side of the back hurts downwards, in the direction in which the stone was moving, irritating and scratching the walls of the ureter. Along with the pain, the person often feels nausea, dizziness, he vomits, he often runs to the toilet, the body temperature is elevated to 39 degrees and higher.

Kidney diseases

When a person has pain in the kidneys on the right side as a result of pyelonephritis or glomerulonephritis, the pain appears like a killer - unexpectedly, but its nature is inconstant. The pain continues to grow, intensify, and becomes more and more unbearable. If the nature of the disease is acute, then the pain is acute, and if it is a slowly progressing inflammatory process, then the pain is dull, nagging, and does not go away for a long time.

Additional symptoms include a fever of 37 to 39 degrees, severe swelling in the lower back and legs, urine that becomes bright red (indication of inflammation) or cloudy (indication of protein in the urine and poor kidney function), and impaired urination.

Flakes and foreign impurities in urine can be visible to the naked eye, even without laboratory tests. Urine - a product of kidney processing - can change color due to purulent discharge, blood cells - erythrocytes, which remain in it when glomerulonephritis is diagnosed.

If you have found similar symptoms - a change in the color of urine, general malaise, vomiting, or even pain in the right side without any other symptoms - consult a doctor for examination, because such diseases cannot be treated on their own.

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The mechanism of occurrence of pain in the right side

If the diseased organ is located on the right, then the pain most often occurs on the right, for example, the right kidney can cause pain in the right side (back or abdominal area).

But there may also be a situation when the pain occurs on the right side, but its source is an organ located on the left or in the middle. For example, with appendicitis, when the appendix is located on the right side of the lower abdomen, but the pain radiates upward or to the middle of the abdomen. Therefore, appendicitis can be confused with kidney pain; kidney disease can have similar symptoms.

In order for surgical intervention in severe pain not to be in vain (they cut out the appendix, but the kidneys hurt), an accurate comprehensive diagnosis is needed. Otherwise, the localization of pain can deceive both the patient and, what is most offensive, the doctor.

According to the mechanism of occurrence of abdominal pain, visceral, peritoneal and referred pain are distinguished.

Visceral pain in the right side occurs with impaired motility of the stomach, intestines, gall bladder (spasm or stretching of smooth muscle fibers). These pains are either cramping (for example, with hepatic colic, intestinal colic), or, conversely, dull, aching (flatulence, hypomotor dyskinesia of the gall bladder) and are often accompanied by irradiation to various parts of the body.

Peritoneal (somatic) pain in the right side occurs with irritation of the parietal peritoneum, for example, with a perforated gastric ulcer, acute appendicitis. Such pains are usually clearly localized, constant; they are sharp, cutting in nature, intensify with movement and breathing, and are accompanied by tension in the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall.

Reflected pain in the right side is a specific type of irradiation of pain sensations, which can be observed, in particular, with right-sided lower lobe pneumonia, pleurisy, and some other diseases.

Correct detailing of pain in the right side assumes, first of all, clarification of such an important sign of pain syndrome as localization of pain. In turn, it is possible to correctly localize the patient's pain sensations only if you have a good idea of the topographical areas of the abdomen.

By means of two horizontal lines, one of which connects the lowest points of the 10th ribs, and the other the upper anterior iliac spines, the anterior abdominal wall is divided into three regions or "floors"; upper, middle (mesogastrium) and lower (hypogastrium). Two vertical lines drawn along the outer (lateral) edges of the rectus abdominis muscles (these lines are essentially a continuation of the midclavicular lines) divide each region into three more. In total, this gives 9 topographical regions of the abdomen.

In this case, the upper "floor" will consist of the epigastric region (regio epigastrica), as well as the right and left hypochondriacal regions (regio hypochondriaca dextra et sinistra). The mesogastrium will contain the umbilical region (regio umbilicalis), the right and left lateral sections of the abdomen or flanks (regio abdominalis lateralis dextra et sinistra). Finally, the hypogastrium will consist of the pubic region (regio pubica), the right and left inguinal regions (regio inguinalis dextra et sinistra). The latter regions are sometimes called ilioinguinal or iliac.

What organs can cause pain in the right side

• Liver
• Pancreas (most often its head)
• Bile ducts
• Duodenum
• Kidney (right)
• Ureter
• Large intestine (its ascending part)
• Uterus, epididymis
• Appendix and cecum

Localization of pain in the right side

Since most vital organs are located inside the abdominal cavity, pain can radiate to the right, to the left, to the middle of the abdomen, to the back, and to the side. The localization of pain depends in most cases on where the diseased organ is located.

Pain in the side is one of the most acute pains that can occur of all types of pain, excluding, perhaps, pain inside the abdomen.

This is easy to explain: the abdominal cavity contains nerve endings, blood vessels, organs of the urinary system, and genitals. They are easily excitable and react sharply to irritants, so the pain can increase depending on how acute the inflammatory process is.

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Pain in the lower abdomen on the right

Determining the exact location of pain in many cases helps to immediately assume the involvement of one or another organ in the pathological process.

Almost always, the localization of pain coincides with the location of the problem structure, therefore, pain in the right side is most often associated with pathology of the organs surrounding this area. But sometimes the pain can "deceive" and arise far from the place of the "tragedy", and then the pain gives places to the most unexpected points of the body. Pain in the right side at the top can provoke acute appendicitis, although the appendix is located far from this area - on the right below the abdomen. By nature, pain in the right side can be strong, sharp, sudden, pulling, dull, long, can increase over time or subside. Cramping pain is more often associated with a sharp contraction of the muscles of the hollow organs, constant pain - with stretching of the outer shell of the parenchymatous organs, and increasing pain is most typical for inflammatory processes. Acute stabbing pain occurs, in most cases, when some formation ruptures, an organ is perforated, there is intra-abdominal bleeding, or when blood vessels are blocked.

Most often, these pains are caused by the organs of the female reproductive system (ovaries, uterus, appendages) or appendicitis.

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Pain in the side, in the right hypochondrium

Pains of this nature are the consequences of diseases of the internal organs: the duodenum, gall bladder and bile ducts, liver, large intestine (its right side). That is, internal organs that are localized on the right (or their part that is on the right side).

What causes pain under the right rib, which people still call pain in the right side? Doctors determine that one of the most common causes of this pain is biliary dyskinesia. The gallbladder may contain stones - hard formations that scratch the walls of the gallbladder and can cause severe pain. Especially if these stones do not stay in place, but move.

The cause of sharp pain under the right rib may also be calculous cholecystitis. In the acute course of the disease, the pain can be very strong, it is difficult for a person to tolerate it. In this case, movements are constrained, changing positions does not help, and the pain is very sharp. Doctors call this condition hepatic colic. Hepatic - because several vital organs associated with the liver are involved in the process.

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Back pain on the right

The right side of the abdomen may hurt if the vital organs located there are inflamed. These may be the kidneys and the right side of the bladder. Back pain on the right side may be caused by diseases such as:

• pyelonephritis;
• glomerulonephritis;
• renal vascular thrombosis;
• tuberculosis of the kidney;
• hydronephrosis;
• prolapse of the kidney;
• urolithiasis.

These diseases can cause very sharp pains in the back on the right side, and these pains manifest themselves in the form of contractions, twitching. The causes of such pain are stones in the ureter, due to which it becomes blocked, and its walls stretch and tense, and then become inflamed and painful.

As for kidney diseases, they can be affected by toxins, decay products, tissues that have died as a result of tuberculosis, and even ordinary blood clots (caked blood) can get into the kidneys and ureter.

In case of severe pain in the back of the side, doctors can diagnose the condition of renal colic, and they will be right - all of the above reasons can cause stabbing and cutting pains in the kidneys.

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Character of pain in the right side

Pain in the right side can be different in nature. Strong, sharp, acute, aching, and pulling. By the nature of the onset - pain in the right side can be sudden, and on the contrary - gradual and increasing.

Pain in the right side can be in the form of contractions. They occur because the hollow organs can contract strongly and sharply. The pain can also be increasing, not very sharp, aching.

They may not be caused by sharp contractions of muscle tissue, as in the first case, but by inflammatory processes, very often acute and even chronic. There is another type of pain, the most unpleasant - very sharp, very strong, in which a person may lose consciousness or scream.

Such pains are typical for rupture of organs, tissues, for example, with a ruptured spleen. Or the cause may be bleeding inside the abdominal cavity or a hole in the stomach (ulcer, perforation ). Severe, almost knife-like pain in the right side can also be caused by vascular blockages.

What to do if you have pain in your right side?

Pain is a danger signal that should never be ignored. According to the ancients, pain is the watchdog of disease, warning of health problems. Therefore, if you have pain of any nature and location, you should immediately seek help from a doctor and undergo a thorough diagnosis.

If you have pain in your right side, it is not temporary. It means that there is something wrong with the organs inside. You need to take urgent measures to treat diseases of these organs.