Pain in the right abdomen

General

The abdomen, which is also known as the pelvic viscera in ancient times, is an unspecific term for the internal organs of the abdominal cavity such as the intestine or bladder and the sexual organs, for example the uterus or ovaries of the woman. The region extends approximately from the hip bones to the navel. Pain in the abdomen can have many causes, although the location of the pain is not necessarily the site of the disease.

For example, pain originating in the abdomen may radiate to the back or legs. However, the opposite is also possible: diseases of organs in the upper abdominal cavity, such as the gall bladder, can cause pain in the lower abdomen. If you feel pain in your abdomen without any indication of the cause, have it clarified by your doctor!

Pain, which is mainly felt in the right lower abdomen, can have different origins. In the following, we will list some causes that can cause them. The intestine fills the entire lower abdomen with about five meters.

A frequent and serious cause of pain in the right lower abdomen is appendicitis. The pain typical for it usually first makes itself felt in the area of the stomach and the upper abdomen and then moves from there to the lower right. The pain is spasmodic and the lower abdomen region on the right is sensitive to pressure.

In children, the pain can also appear in the left lower abdomen. The pain is often accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fever and poor general condition. Another emergency that requires immediate action by a doctor is intestinal obstruction.

It may also be accompanied by stabbing pain in the right lower abdomen, stool retention and vomiting. Other causes of right-sided abdominal pain that can be caused by the intestine are constipation, inflammation of the large intestine, irritable bowel syndrome, entanglement of parts of the intestine, infections with certain bacteria, tumors, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis or intestinal tuberculosis, which is rather rare nowadays. The stomach, which is located in the upper abdomen, can also cause secondary harmless symptoms in the right lower abdomen.

Irritation of the stomach, stomach ulcers and tumors can cause pain in the right lower abdomen due to radiation. The gall bladder in the upper right abdomen below the liver can also cause pain in the lower right abdomen. It often interacts with other organs.

The causes can be biliary colic – spasmodic contractions of the gallbladder mucosa or inflammation of the gallbladder, gallstones or a disorder in the flow of bile. Those affected are usually in poor general condition, with digestive and metabolic disorders and the typical yellowish discoloration of the skin or eyes. Another cause of pain in the right lower abdomen can be a so-called inguinal hernia.

Here, parts of an organ protrude through an anatomically predetermined gap in the groin region of the abdominal wall and can cause pain by pinching. Clearly more men are affected by this. Other possibilities that can be associated with pain in the right lower abdomen are abscesses (foci of pus) in the lumbar muscle, urinary tract infections or adhesions in the right lower abdomen due to previous operations. In general, if the abdominal wall becomes hardened or pain is felt just by touching the abdomen, a doctor should always be consulted, as this can be a serious emergency!