Lower Abdominal Pain

Lower abdominal pain refers to any discomfort, tingling sensation or mild to severe aching below the umbilicus or the belly button. The pain can be felt in the right lower part of the abdomen or in the left lower part of the abdomen. In addition, the patient can also experience sharp pain in the midline or just below the umbilicus. This health condition can be caused by various factors like doing strenuous activities or it can be due to the occurrence or development of chronic illnesses. To learn more about this condition, let us have a closer look at its symptoms, causes and treatments. Moreover, it is important to know the methods used by physicians or health professionals to diagnose the etiology of the condition.

Lower Abdominal Pain Symptoms

To identify if the condition needs serious attention from medical experts, it is important that patients have ideas about the different lower abdominal pain symptoms. These include recurrent stabbing pain below the umbilicus as well as dull aching in the belly. Another symptom, which indicates that patients need assistance from physicians, is the sudden but shooting ache in the midline. When the pain is accompanied by vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea or constipation, it is best for patients to let a health expert diagnose the condition to identify the underlying causes of the pain.

Causes of Lower Abdominal Pain

Recurrent aching in the lower abdomen can be caused by other disease, so it is beneficial for patients to let medical doctors examine them at the onset of the pain. Examples of illnesses that usually cause this condition are irritable bowel syndrome and urinary tract infection. Serious diseases that commonly cause lower abdominal pain include appendicitis, diverticulitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, Crohn’s disease, hernia, endometriosis as well as ulcerative colitis.

Lower Abdominal Pain Diagnosis

To assess the real cause of the condition, health professionals do medical examinations on patients experiencing any of the symptoms. The most common method that they use is blood testing, which may involve blood count and electrolytes count. Aside from this, medical professionals can also perform erect chest x-ray, colonoscopy, computed tomography as well as endoscopy.

Lower Abdominal Pain Relief

Patients suffering from this condition can ease the symptoms by using the different treatments recommended by physicians. Acute lower abdominal ache can be relieved by oral administration of ibuprofen or other pain relievers. Patients can also apply hot pack on the affected area. To treat serious conditions, patients may undergo some surgical procedures like appendectomy.