Duration

The duration of the bloating can vary greatly. In most cases, temporary, short-term digestive problems are behind the symptom, which can occur especially after eating or during the passage of food in the large intestine. In these cases, an inflated stomach can last from a few minutes to a few hours.

Even in the case of severe constipation, the bloated belly often resolves itself within a maximum of two days. If the problem persists longer, other basic diseases must be considered. With the help of drug therapies, however, the symptom of the distended stomach can usually be remedied within a few hours. A recurring bloated abdomen remains until the underlying disease has been sufficiently treated.

Diagnosis

The examination of an intussusception can be carried out by various diagnostic means, whereby less invasive measures are performed first. In order to detect an inflated abdomen, it is sufficient to conduct a detailed examination and to tap the abdominal surface. The latter allows a differentiation between normally filled intestinal loops and over-inflation based on the tapping sound.

Furthermore, air accumulations in the abdomen can be easily depicted by means of ultrasound examination. It is also possible to differentiate whether the air is in the intestine, another abdominal organ or free in the abdominal cavity. For a detailed examination of the digestion, food protocols, stool samples and a colonoscopy can provide more detailed information. If there is a suspicion of blockages or space-occupying intestines, high-resolution computer tomography is still available.

Associated symptoms

Depending on its cause and the underlying disease, the distended abdomen may be asymptomatic or accompanied by strong, restrictive accompanying symptoms. Expanded abdomen only describes the accumulation of air within the abdomen, the most frequent accompanying symptom is therefore flatulence, which is often confused with the inflated abdomen. In addition to the flatulence, diarrhoea, constipation, abdominal pain and abdominal cramps can occur.

All these symptoms indicate digestive problems in the intestines. In rare cases, complete intestinal blockages can occur, which are accompanied by severe abdominal pain and can be very dangerous. Inflammation of the intestine can also cause fever, aching limbs, weakness and a reduced general condition.

If the gallbladder and the liver are involved in the complaints of the abdomen, targeted pressure pains in the upper abdomen and a yellowing of the eyes and later of the skin can sometimes occur. More rarely, accompanying symptoms of bloated abdomen are blood in the stool, heartburn, weight loss or anaemia. All accompanying symptoms play an important role in primary diagnostics in order to be able to assess the approximate organ area and the severity of the disease.

Pain is one of the most common and important symptoms of bloating. The intensity of the pain allows an indication of the severity of the gas accumulation and the basic symptoms. The severe pain is also the most common reason for a visit to the doctor, especially if it occurs daily.

The pain is mainly caused by the pressure of the intestinal loops on each other, on the abdominal wall, on other organs and on the back and nerve plexuses running there. The intestine itself is particularly sensitive to pain, so that the stretching of the intestinal loops and the increase in pressure in the abdominal cavity can cause an unpleasant and stabbing pain, similar to that of a severe constipation. In the case of an inflated abdomen, it is not advisable to ignore the pain or to treat it independently with painkillers.

Painkillers can suppress the pain, but can make the basic problem worse. In an emergency, this can lead to dangerous intestinal blockages. An inflated stomach is often accompanied by constipation and flatulence, which indicate reduced intestinal movement and poor digestion.

In some cases, however, diarrhoea can also be associated with an inflated stomach. This is caused by inflammation of the gastrointestinal mucosa caused by bacterial pathogens. They can disturb the digestion and splitting of the food pulp and, in addition to liquefaction of the stool, can cause gas production in the intestine.

After a longer period of constipation, on the other hand, so-called “paradoxical diarrhoea” can occur. Prolonged blockages in the intestine can cause the solid stool to be decomposed by intestinal bacteria in such a way that it liquefies to a great extent. The expansion and blockage of the food pulp can also cause fluid to flow back from the blood into the bowel in a reflex action, which leads to paradoxical diarrhoea.

This might also be of interest to you on this topic: Home remedies for diarrhoea constipation are common in many people and represent a typical disease of civilization. They can be acute or chronic and have various causes. In most cases, an acute form of constipation is due to poor diet and exercise.

It is mainly low-fibre meals, low fluid intake and lack of exercise that cause constipation. They lead to an overall harder stool and reduced movement of the intestinal muscles. Prolonged constipation and food that is difficult to digest also lead to large gas accumulations in the intestine, which additionally cause abdominal cramps, flatulence and pain.

More rarely, metabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, neurological or muscular diseases or medication can also be responsible for the constipation. Tumours of the abdominal cavity are also conceivable. In addition to intestinal tumours, these can also be tumours of the ovaries or uterus, which press on the intestine and block digestion.

Depending on the exact location of the distended abdomen, the pain can also manifest itself in the back instead of the abdomen. In particular, deeper parts of the colon extend to just before the coccyx and then flow into the rectum. Bloated intestinal loops can press on the spinal column and the nerve plexuses located in front of the coccyx in the deeper parts of the intestine, causing pain in the lumbar region and the entire lower back.

If orthopaedic complaints of the back are excluded, in rare cases rheumatic diseases of the spine can also explain the back pain. Some rheumatic diseases cause intestinal complaints and changes in the spine at the same time. The pancreas can also be a rare cause of back pain.

If it has inflammatory changes, not only digestive problems but also stabbing pains in the area of the thoracic spine can occur. This could also be of interest to you on this topic:

Back Pain
Back pain therapy

A bloated abdomen primarily refers to a gas accumulation of air in the abdominal cavity, but not yet so-called “flatulence”. In the majority of cases, the bulging abdomen is located within the intestine, often within the large intestine, from which flatulence later develops.

However, an inflated stomach can also occur without flatulence at all, for example when a severe constipation holds back both the air and the food pulp in the intestine. Digestive enzymes can also make an inflated stomach disappear by itself without causing flatulence. A certain amount of flatulence permanently escapes the body without being noticed. Flatulence only occurs when large amounts of gas suddenly escape from the intestines.