Abdominal pain is as common as the common cold, and is a frequent cause of misery to millions of children, women and men world wide on a daily basis. This misery could even be made worse if the cause of the pain remains elusive despite visit to the doctor, or inability to find a lasting remedy for the pain.

Trapped wind, indigestion, heart burns, appendicitis, diverticulitis, peptic ulcer, hiatus hernia, pancreatitis, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, kidney stones and food poisoning are just a few of the common causes of pain in the abdomen.

Case Reports

Claire, 26, went out with friends on Saturday night. She had a meal with a few drinks. On Monday morning, at about 2 A.M, she woke up with a severe upper central abdominal pain, dull ache, sometimes sharp and stabbing, and biting through to her back. She dashed to the refrigerator to get some cold water to drink "…perhaps this may help take this burning sensation away." She became very nauseous, and eating did not help.

On seeing her family doctor first thing in the morning, she was told she must have had Alcoholic Gastritis. A prescription of an antacid and a few other medications banished that terrible pain and Claire was relieved.

Aaron is 12. He developed an insidious onset upper abdominal pain that was initially located around his umbilicus (belly button). He tried ignoring the pain for two days. By the third day, the pain has moved over from around the umbilicus to the right lower abdomen.

He felt sick and actually vomited once. He could not have his dinner the previous night, and has lost appetite, even for his most favorite dish. The pain became so bad that Aaron would not want to do anything but lie still in bed. He was feverish.

At his local hospital’s emergency department, he was diagnosed to have appendicitis. He was taken to theater that evening, and operated upon. He was found to have a ruptured appendicitis . . . a few hours away; it could have cost him his life!

Do you or your loved one suffer with chronic abdominal pain? Or are you looking for explanation for the cause of pain on your right lower abdomen or on the left abdomen or indeed anywhere in the abdomen?

Here at the Abdominal Pain Centre, we aim:

to provide a comprehensive wealth of information free of charge on causes, recognition, investigations, current treatment options available and where appropriate, actions that can be taken to prevent abdominal pain, whether in babies, infant, in women, in pregnancy, or abdominal pain after sex, or even other rarer causes of pain in the abdomen.

The content of this site is solely contributed by experienced medical doctors with international experience, and they strive to base this guide on current best evidence available both in current medical literature and from their clinical experience in their day to day medical practice.

We sincerely hope that this free online resource prove to be useful to you in trying to understand the causes of abdominal pain , their investigations and treatment.

It would prove to be a useful resource for the curious non-medical reader as well as medical and health trainees. We regularly update the information here, so please visit often.

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