Upper abdominal pain and flatulence – what is behind it?

Synonym

Flatulence = flatulenceUpper abdominal pain is a common phenomenon. They can have very different causes. Flatulence can be responsible for pain in the upper abdomen, among other things. When finding the cause of upper abdominal pain, it is important to pay attention to when the pain occurs (after/before eating), where it is located (more to the left, in the middle or on the right), whether it occurs suddenly or whether it persists over a longer period of time. The quality of the pain (stabbing, pressing, dull) can also be an important clue to determine the trigger of the pain.

Causes

A common cause of upper abdominal pain is flatulence. These are usually caused by the ingestion of food. In principle, foods that promote flatulence include: fibre-rich foods, raw vegetables and pulses (beans), food rich in sorbitol (as a sugar substitute in soft drinks, chewing gum, etc.

), asparagus, various types of cabbage and plums. Otherwise, there are also individually not well-tolerated foods that can cause flatulence and thus pain in the upper abdomen. In this case it can be helpful to try out which foods are concerned in consultation with the doctor and to leave them out for a certain time.

If this leads to an improvement of the flatulence, it should be checked whether it can be removed from the diet in the future. It is to be noted that the nutrients are replaced when leaving out a food at best by another equivalent, replaced. This is best done in consultation with the doctor.

With the help of a nutrition diary it is often easier to find out which foods could possibly be responsible for the unpleasant and painful overproduction of gas. It is also relevant “how” the food was taken in. If food is eaten too quickly, a lot of air is often “swallowed”, which then partly reaches the intestine. Furthermore, food allergies/intolerances must be considered (see subitem Diarrhoea).