Definition – What are intestinal cramps without diarrhoea?
Intestinal cramps denote an excessive tension of the smooth intestinal muscles. This musculature is responsible for the so-called peristalsis, which moves food around the intestine. The function of the muscles can be disturbed by various factors, resulting in increased and prolonged periods of tension.
This causes intestinal cramps. They are often accompanied by other complaints of the digestive tract such as diarrhoea. Diarrhoea refers to an increased frequency of bowel movements (at least three times a day), and often the consistency of the bowel movements can range from soft to liquid. Bowel cramps without diarrhoea, on the other hand, occur with normal bowel movements, and possibly also constipation.
Causes
Bowel cramps often occur in connection with diarrhoea, but this does not always have to be the case. On the contrary, sometimes intestinal cramps are caused by diseases associated with constipation. A particularly common cause of this is diet.
A sufficient amount of drinking, for example, ensures that the body can excrete sufficient fluid through the stool. Only in this way does the bowel movement acquire its typical consistency. On the other hand, if there is too little fluid, the stool becomes solid.
This can cause painful bowel movements as well as stomach aches and intestinal cramps. When eating, you should make sure that you eat a balanced diet rich in fibre. Especially too little fibre can also cause constipation.
Occasionally, food intolerances also lead to intestinal cramps without diarrhoea. Other diseases such as inflammation of the intestines can also cause the symptoms. Especially when the last sections of the intestine are affected, bowel movements are often difficult due to pain.
This leads to increased retention of stool, whereupon the bowel movement thickens, so that constipation may also occur. Bowel cramps without diarrhoea can also have psychological causes. Stress in many cases literally hits the stomach or even the intestines, causing intestinal cramps and the associated pain.
Other accompanying symptoms
Bowel cramps are usually accompanied by cramping pain. These are usually localised in the abdomen, but can also radiate backwards into the back. Bowel cramps without diarrhoea are often accompanied by constipation, and may also be accompanied by changes in the colour of the stool.
Flatulence also occurs as an accompanying symptom. Other symptoms, often accompanied by complaints of the digestive tract, are nausea and vomiting. Depending on the underlying cause of the complaints, fever and fatigue may also occur. The intestinal cramps can also spread to other parts of the digestive tract, resulting in stomach cramps, for example.
Treatment / Therapy
The treatment of intestinal cramps without diarrhoea depends on the cause of the symptoms. In many cases, the symptoms should be treated first. First and foremost, a sufficient amount of fluid is important so that the intestines can work well and constipation does not occur in addition to the intestinal cramps.
In addition, attention should be paid to nutrition. Thus, it is important to eat a gentle diet at first, so that the intestines can calm down a little. If you suffer from food intolerances, you should also avoid the foods that trigger them.
In the case of severe intestinal cramps, antispasmodic agents such as magnesium and Buscopan® can be taken temporarily. Painkillers should be taken with caution, as they may worsen rather than improve the symptoms. If you suffer from high fever in addition to the intestinal cramps, you can also take a fever-reducing drug (be careful, these drugs can also worsen the intestinal cramps in some people).
If necessary, other medicines may have to be taken if the intestinal cramps persist, but these must be prescribed by a doctor depending on the underlying illness. Fever is a very unspecific symptom. First of all, the increase in temperature indicates that processes are taking place in the body that the immune system wants to fight.
Common triggers for this are pathogens that the body wants to kill with the high temperature. Other inflammatory reactions are also often accompanied by fever. Since the intestines are normally full of bacteria, the immune system can react quickly in the event of intestinal cramps, so that symptoms such as fever can occur in addition to the intestinal cramps.
Vomiting is a protective mechanism of the body in which undesirable substances are quickly and effectively transported out of the body. A typical cause would therefore be spoiled food, for example. If not all of the food is vomited, the remaining portions enter the intestine and cause intestinal cramps.
Irritation of the stomach or oesophagus can also cause vomiting. Occasionally, food intolerances also lead to spontaneous vomiting. In most cases vomiting is accompanied by nausea and unspecific abdominal pain.
Bowel or stomach cramps can also be accompanying symptoms. Stomach cramps usually occur as a symptom in connection with food intake. In the case of a stomach ulcer, for example, stomach pain occurs immediately during or after eating.
The disease is a defect in the protective mucous layer of the stomach, so that the strongly acidic gastric juice attacks the stomach lining. This can lead to stomach cramps. The injury to the mucous membrane causes bleeding, so that blood may be vomited. If blood gets into the intestines with the chyme, it can also cause intestinal cramps, and the bowel movement can be dark to black in colour due to the digested blood.
