Symptoms
Abdominal pain manifests as diffuse or clearly localizable pain or cramps in the abdominal area. They may be accompanied by digestive complaints such as diarrhea, flatulence, and vomiting. To be distinguished from this are stomach pains that occur at about the level of the sternum.
Causes
There are numerous causes of abdominal pain or cramps. The following list shows a selection:
- Mild indigestion
- Flatulence, diarrhea, constipation.
- Gastrointestinal flu
- Menstrual pain
- Medicines
- Infectious diseases, e.g. gastroenteritis, urinary tract infections.
- Ulcers, tumors, appendicitis (appendicitis), Crohn’s disease, intestinal obstruction, gastritis, pancreatitis.
- Psychological causes, stress
- Food intolerance, e.g. lactose intolerance, celiac disease, oligosaccharides.
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Gallstones
- Injuries, operations, poisoning
- Organ perforations
- Pregnancy
Diagnosis
Acute, mild and transient abdominal pain can usually be self-treated. In case of severe pain, pain that can be precisely localized, unusual accompanying symptoms (eg, fever, blood in the stool) and a chronic course should contact the family doctor. The medical diagnosis is complex, since very many causes can be considered.
Nonpharmacologic treatment
- Heat is a good effective remedy for abdominal pain and cramps. Heat can be supplied, for example, with a hot water bottle or a cherry stone pillow.
- Avoid foods that are difficult to digest.
- Drink enough, such as warm tea (see below).
Drug treatment
Whenever possible, treatment should be based on the cause. The following are common medications used to treat simple, noncomplicated abdominal pain. Digestive agents:
- Herbal bitter remedies, bile remedies (e.g., Boldocynara, Weleda Amara drops, Iberogast).
- Digestive enzymes such as pancreatin, eg pancytrate), the alpha-galactosidase, lactase and xylose isomerase.
- Prokinetic drugs such as domperidone (Motilium), metoclopramide (Paspertin, generics).
Antiflatulent drugs:
- Defoamers such as simeticon (eg, Flatulex, Imogas) and dimethicone to treat flatulence.
Antispasmodics:
- In self-medication, scopolamine butylbromide (Buscopan) is often used to treat abdominal cramps. Other spasmolytics are available on medical prescription, such as mebeverine (Duspatalin).
Analgesics:
- Some abdominal pain, such as menstrual pain, responds to pain relievers such as acetaminophen (e.g., Dafalgan), ibuprofen (e.g., Algifor), and naproxen (e.g., Aleve).
Herbal medicines:
- For example, chamomile tea, fennel tea, butterbur, peppermint tea, peppermint oil with cumin oil (Gaspan).
Probiotics:
- Enterococcus SF 68 (Bioflorin)
- Lactobacilli (eg, lactoferment)
Alternative medicine:
- E.g. homeopathics, spagyric, anthroposophic, Schüssler salts (Hot Seven).
