Sudden or severe abdominal pain

Symptoms of severe or sudden abdominal pain could be due to:

Appendicitis

Symptoms and indications: Symptoms of Appendicitis include abdominal pain that often begins over the umbilicus and then moves to the right ileac fossa. The pain is severe and worse with movement e.g. coughing or deep breathing etc. There may also be nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite and fever. Eventually, there is abdominal swelling and tenderness. A person with symptoms of appendicitis should seek immediate medical attention, as it is an emergency condition.

Treatment: Usually appendicitis occurs in the acute form, requiring hospital treatment or appendicectomy (surgical removal of the appendix). The condition is normally completely cured with prompt surgery but is dangerous if left untreated.

Persons most commonly affected: All age groups and both sexes, but it is rare in young children under the age of two. It is most common in young people up to the age of 25.

Colic

Symptoms and indications: Cramping, spasmodic waves of pain. Usually the symptoms last for a fairly brief period. Infantile Colic characteristically causes the baby to cry loudly for several hours, especially in the evening, and the legs may be drawn up in pain. Colic is a painful but usually short-lived. A doctor should be consulted if the symptoms continue for a long time. Infantile colic can be alarming and parents often need reassurance that there is nothing seriously wrong with their baby. However, this condition does not require medical intervention.

Treatment: Involves finding the most comfortable position to relieve the pain and resting until the symptoms subside. A hot-water bottle is also helpful.

Persons most commonly affected: Adults and children of all ages and both sexes. Infantile colic affects babies between the ages of about two weeks and four months.

Diverticular disease - Diverticulitis

Symptoms and indications: There are usually no symptoms of diverticulosis. However, there may be pain in the left side of the lower abdomen and disturbed bowel habit, caused by muscle spasms in the colon. The symptoms of diverticulitis are intermittent cramping in the abdomen, often becoming severe pain. There is often fever and nausea and there may be tenderness of the affected area.

Treatment: A high-fibre diet. X-rays of the colon are usually taken to ensure that the symptoms are not caused by cancer of the colon. If the diverticulae are infected, treatment with an antibiotic is required. If a diverticula has ruptured, surgery to mend the colon is required.

Persons most commonly affected: Adults of both sexes, becoming more common with increasing age.

Gallstones

Symptoms and indications: In many cases, gallstones may be present for years without causing any symptoms. However, when symptoms do occur they include severe pain of a colic type, particularly on the upper right-hand side of the abdomen. The pain may also be felt in the upper part of the back. There may be nausea, vomiting and indigestion. If the stones pass into the common bile duct, the resulting obstruction can cause Jaundice. A person having symptoms of gallstones should seek medical advice.

Treatment: Gallstones: particularly small ones, may be treated with ultrasound waves to break them up, or drugs may be prescribed to dissolve them. Surgical treatment to remove the gall bladder may be required and this is carried out either by conventional methods or by making small incisions and using fibreoptic instruments.

Persons most commonly affected: Adults of both sexes but twice as common in women as in men. They are more common with increasing age, hence more prevalent in middle-aged and older people.

Other problems that could cause Symptoms of severe or sudden abdominal pain could be: Cholecystitis, Colitis, Crohn's disease, Ectopic pregnancy, Ileitis, Intestinal obstruction and intussusception, Liver abscess, Ovarioan cyst (ruptured), Pancreas cancer, Pancreatitis, Peritonitis, Porphyria and others.