Upper Right Abdominal Pain

Upper right abdominal pain is pain occurring in the abdomen, to the right of a line drawn from the right nipple to the level of the umbilicus or belly button.

For clarity, we shall describe the abdomen as anywhere between the edge of the rib cage to the margins of your waist bone on the front to the sides.

Organs found in this region include the liver, gallbladder, upper part of the barge bowel, right kidney and kidney tubes or ureters, lower part of the right lungs from the back, the adrenal gland on the right, muscles bones, and skin covering the region.

Any problem in these structures or near by ones will cause upper right abdominal pain.

Things that can cause pain in the upper abdomen therefore include:

Biliary colic

This presents usually as a dull to severe ache, starting at the top right abdomen, constant ache, but with intermittent periods of pain, followed by release again. The pain may spread to the right shoulder or back, and may feel as if a heavy load is on the chest (crushing). There may be feeling of wanting to vomit, or actual vomiting. The pain usually lasts for minutes to about six hours. It may resolve on its own, to come another day. It is due to trapped stone in the ducts or tubes that drain bile. Read more about biliary colic here

Cholecystitis

Very similar to biliary colicis cholecystitis. It causes pain in the right upper abdomen too. The pain may be like you have above in biliary colic, though it tends to last longer than that of biliary colic. There may be associated fever, and jaundice. There may also be catching of the breath during inspiration due to the pain. It is due to infection of the gallbladder. You can read more on this cause of upper right abdominal pain here

Constipation

Even though this is not a very common cause of upper right abdominal pain, it can occur. In this case, it should be relatively easy to identify, as the sufferer will not have opened his or her bowel for some days. There may be bloating. It is usually commoner in the elderly, or individuals with irritable bowel syndrome. You can read more on constipation here

Hepatitis

This is not a very common cause of upper right abdominal pain, but do occur. It presents as a dull abdominal pain, mainly in the upper right abdomen, associated fever usually. There may be jaundice, and vomiting. Please see ther page on hepatitis

Kidney Stones

Stone any where down the kidney or ureters, which are the tubes that drain urine from the kidneys, could cause severe pain. This can cause upper right abdominal pain if the stone is on the right side. The pain tends to be very strong, some describing it as the most severe pain they have ever felt. The pain often wakes people up from the sleep early in the morning, or just from the blues while doing something else. You may find yourself seeking various positions to easy the pain, but usually to no avail. There may be vomiting, and the pain could spread from the loin (upper side of the body wall) to the groin (towards the genitals). In some men, the pain could spread to the tip of the penis! Please read more about kidney stone here

Musculoskeletal Pain

If you sprain a muscle in this region, from exercise or too much work or from hitting it on a hard surface, no doubt this will cause pain. Musculoskeletal pain will be easy to diagnose as you may remember hitting your body or being hit, or engaged in an unusual amount of strain. Lower right rib fracture can also cause upper right abdominal pain.

Pneumonia

Lower lobe pneumonia, or inflammation of the lower part of the lung, can present, on the right side as upper right abdominal pain. Patient typically will have this crushing or sharp upper right abdominal pain, fever, and cough. The cough may be productive of yellowish or brown sputum or mucus. Please read about pneumonia here

Cancer

Bowel cancer or cancer in any structure in right upper abdomen can cause upper right abdominal pain. The pain would be long standing, dull and there may be associated weight loss, poor appetite, anaemia and all these may have lasted for six months or more. Please the section on cancer to read more

Eat healthy foods. Prevent unneccessary upper right abdominal pain. See this e-book.

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