There are various diseases that can lead to pain in the intestines. However, it is often not possible to localize the pain exactly. Often patients feel an unspecific pain in the abdomen. This can be acute and very strong, or chronic and dull. Some diseases lead less to a persistent pain, but rather to a colicky pain that occurs in waves.
Small Intestinal Melanoma
A small bowel obstruction is caused by a mechanical blockage of the small bowel (mechanical ileus) and its function, or by paralysis of bowel peristalsis (paralytic ileus) due to a massive inflammation in the abdomen. Due to the loss of function in a mechanical ileus, the intestinal contents can no longer be transported. This leads to constipation of the intestine.
After some time, this can lead to massive colicky pain in the abdomen, but also to a feeling of fullness, nausea and vomiting. The pain is caused by the attempt of the intestine to transport the intestinal contents further, which is not possible due to the ileus. The mechanical ileus urgently requires surgical treatment.
The cause must be found and eliminated. The paralytic ileus is usually only a symptom of another disease, such as peritonitis. It is not so much the ileus that causes the pain, but rather the underlying disease, which must be treated urgently.
Inform yourself also about the topic: Burning in the intestineChronic inflammatory diseases of the intestine, such as Crohn’s disease, can also lead to pain in the abdomen. This is an autoimmune inflammation of all layers of the intestinal wall. Erosions and ulcerations of the intestinal wall can occur, leading to pain caused by inflammation.
Crohn’s disease can occur in the entire gastrointestinal tract and, in addition to pain, leads to irregular bowel movements, food intolerances and weight loss. The therapy can only be carried out symptomatically by immunosuppression or surgery. A further cause of pain in the small intestine can be the Meckel’s diverticulum.
This is a protrusion of the small intestine and usually causes no symptoms. However, if the Meckel’s diverticulum is partially open, intestinal contents may enter the protrusion and cause inflammation. In this case, the same symptoms occur as in appendicitis.
Fever, nausea, nausea and massive right-sided abdominal pain may occur. The only sensible therapy is then surgery and removal of the inflamed diverticulum. Duodenal ulcer or duodenitis (inflammation of the duodenum) can also cause pain.
This is an ulcer of the duodenum that crosses the muscle layer lying under the mucous membrane. Initially, unspecific symptoms such as nausea, bloating, irregular bowel movements and vomiting occur. Typically, after some time, patients suffer from fasting pain, which initially improves with food intake.
The pain is often located in the upper abdominal region or around the navel. In some cases, the duodenal ulcer is accompanied by no symptoms and is then a random diagnosis. The cause of this ulceration in the small intestine is often a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori.
In this case, the eradication of the pathogen is the main focus. This can be treated very well with three different antibiotics. Otherwise, the avoidance of stress and mucous membrane irritating drugs is in the foreground.
Another disease caused by a bacterium is Whipple’s disease. This is caused by the bacterium Tropheryma whipplei and leads to lymph congestion in the intestine. As a result, no more nutrients can be absorbed from the intestine and the intestinal villi atrophy.
This leads to typical malabsorption symptoms with weight loss, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Furthermore, extraintestinal symptoms such as fever, heart failure and joint inflammation can occur. The therapy consists of a long-term antibiotic therapy. In addition, vitamins, trace elements and electrolytes should be taken to avoid a nutrient deficiency.
