Symptoms

The symptoms vary depending on the triggering cause. The pain can also feel from cramping to stinging or pulling. Often the pain in the right lower abdomen is accompanied by other symptoms, depending on the causative disease.

These range from bleeding, cramps, nausea, vomiting to fever, constipation or diarrhea. Important for pain in the right lower abdomen are where and how the pain feels, whether it is unilateral or bilateral, whether it occurs only in one place or spreads to other parts of the body. The pain can also be felt more as a burning sensation.

Diagnosis

If you are not sure what might be behind your abdominal pain, see your doctor. Because abdominal pain, whether on the right or left, can be an indication of a so-called acute abdomen.You should go to the doctor if the pain does not subside but even increases, if you experience other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting or fever, if your abdominal wall feels hard and tense and if there is blood in the stool or urine. A fast pulse and pronounced dizziness should also be taken seriously, as it could be an impending shock due to internal bleeding.

The doctor will ask you in detail about the nature of your abdominal pain and then perform a physical examination with palpation of the lower abdomen. In addition, urine or stool samples can be tested for blood, bacteria or signs of inflammation, blood tests or swabs taken from orifices such as the vagina or urethra. Women of childbearing age should undergo an examination by a gynaecologist and have a pregnancy test done if necessary.

In some cases, the doctor will produce an ultrasound image of the abdominal and pelvic organs. If pain in the right lower abdomen is suspected to be due to an intestinal disorder, the intestinal tract can be examined in detail via colonoscopy. If no cause for the right abdominal pain can be found, the doctor may perform a laparoscopy if necessary. This is a minor surgical procedure in which optical devices are inserted into the abdominal cavity for examination. If changes in the organs are detected, they can be corrected during the procedure.