Symptoms of acute stomach pain

The article is professionally consulted by Doctor Vo Thi Thuy Trang, Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec International General Hospital Da Nang.

Acute stomach pain is a common symptom in the community, not only causing discomfort and pain, but can lead to chronic gastritis and dangerous complications if not treated properly. Early recognition of symptoms of acute stomach pain and timely treatment helps patients protect their health and prevent complications.

Acute stomach pain can be easily recognized through the following symptoms and manifestations:
Epigastric abdominal pain Severe abdominal pain in the epigastrium is the first manifestation of acute stomach pain, accompanied by heat burning, gnawing. Epigastric pain often occurs after eating because when the stomach lining is congested, the food will affect the mucosa causing severe pain.
Some patients have acute stomach pain in the epigastrium after eating for about 2-3 hours or eating when hungry, sometimes the pain torments at midnight, near morning, causing insomnia and fatigue.
In some cases, the patient does not have severe pain, but has a dull pain, a burning sensation, sometimes a sharp pain. In addition, the patient may feel chest tightness, pain spreading to the back...
Nausea and vomiting The patient may have nausea and vomiting a lot, vomiting right after eating, vomiting all the food.
If all the food has been vomited, the stomach pain will subside, but after a while the pain will reappear. If vomiting is too much without intervention, it will make the patient lose water and electrolytes, emaciated, pale, tired and cause loss.
In addition, vomiting may be accompanied by symptoms of digestive disorders such as: belching, heartburn, bloating, abdominal distension, bloating, loose stools, profuse gas production (a lot of bowel movements) and loss of appetite.

To diagnose acute stomach pain, in addition to the above clinical symptoms, information such as: before acute abdominal pain, what did the patient eat and drink, the patient's history and whether anyone in the family had stomach disease. ..
When the acute pain has been cured, an X-ray of the stomach with contrast can be performed if there is no perforation of the stomach or a gastroscopy if the patient has not eaten anything.
In diagnosing the cause of acute stomach pain, gastroscopy is an effective method because it clearly shows the location of inflammation, it can be combined with taking biopsies for testing. In which testing for HP bacteria is very necessary, it can be done by Gram staining technique and PCR molecular biological reaction.
If deemed necessary, after the pain has stopped, the patient can take an unprepared abdominal X-ray or an abdominal ultrasound for differential diagnosis with some other diseases causing similar symptoms.

When the epigastric pain and the symptoms described above of acute stomach pain appear, the patient should go to the doctor as soon as possible to detect and treat the disease promptly. First of all, it is necessary to treat symptoms, especially pain relief, anti-gastric secretion, anti-inflammatory and anti-emetic because the more gastric juice secretes, the more it irritates the stomach lining, the more pain it causes vomiting.
If acute stomach pain is caused by food poisoning, gastric lavage should be done as soon as possible. If food poisoning is caused by bacteria, it is necessary to use antibiotics according to the appropriate regimen, if the stomach biopsy shows gastritis caused by H.

Today, there are many treatment regimens to help kill HP bacteria, it is best to treat according to the protocol issued by the Ministry of Health. In addition, patients need to improve the body's resistance by building a nutritious diet, getting proper rest, taking more vitamins, especially vitamin B12.

Acute stomach pain can be caused by stomach ulcers (HP bacteria or not due to HP bacteria), due to the use of medical drugs (antibiotics, Aspirin, anti-inflammatory pain relievers...) or allergies animals, eating unhygienic...
Thus, to prevent acute stomach pain, it is very important to stay away from pathogens. Each person should:
Build a healthy diet Eat right meals, eat slowly, chew thoroughly, eat foods that are easy to digest, not too sour, spicy, limit alcohol and stimulant drinks.
Get enough sleep Don't stay up too late after 23 o'clock, get up too early, make sure the sleep time is 7-8 hours a day.
Reduce Stress Balance life and work, avoid unnecessary stress.
Prevention and treatment of HP bacteria if infected If someone in your family is infected with HP bacteria, it is necessary to pay attention to cleaning dishes and utensils, disinfecting eating utensils with boiling water to avoid infection. If the patient has been diagnosed with HP infection, it is necessary to actively treat according to the course, to avoid serious illness and complications.
Limit antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, pain relievers Only use these drugs when approved by the treating doctor, use them in appropriate amounts, give priority to choosing drugs that have little effect on the mucous membranes. gastric mucosa.
When experiencing symptoms of acute stomach pain, the patient should soon go to a medical facility to diagnose the exact cause and treat. If left for a long time, acute stomach pain can lead to chronic gastritis, bleeding, perforation of the stomach...