Stomach pain, or more accurately, abdominal pain, is pain or discomfort that one feels in the area between the chest and the hips. Since the abdomen contains many different organs such as the liver, stomach, intestines, kidneys, pancreas, urinary bladder, and gall bladder, diseases or infections that affect them can cause pain in the stomach area. However, there are conditions affecting other organ systems that can cause pain there too.
Experiencing abdominal pain, especially when severe, should be referred to a doctor at once. The location (where the pain is felt) and the kind of pain, described as localized (felt in a specific area), cramp-like, or colicky (waxing-and-waning), help doctors narrow down the possible causes, allowing them to come up with the proper treatment to ease it.
Here are 30 of the most important causes of abdominal pain in people.
1. Gallstones
Biliary colic, or stomach pain caused by gallstones, is an ache felt in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. It could be steady or intermittent in nature and could sometimes spread, causing pain in the area near the right shoulder blade. The pain is inflammatory in nature, due to the swelling of the gallbladder which is caused when the normal flow of bile, a liquid needed to digest fats in food, is slowed down by a stone.
Gallstones are made up of cholesterol deposits and can either be removed with the help of medicines. However, larger stones, seen via ultrasound, need to be taken out surgically, which involves the removal of the gallbladder completely.
