Abdominal Pain in Adult and Children

Abdominal pain is a medical condition which can be caused by things such as a stomach ache or cramps in the tummy (abdomen). It is usually temporary, short-lived and mostly not serious.

However, severe abdominal pain is a serious cause for concern. If it happens to start unexpectedly and suddenly, it should be considered as a medical emergency, most especially if the abdominal pain is concentrated in a specific area. You need to contact an emergency room near you as fast as possible.

Generally, everyone experiences a stomach ache or say abdominal pain from time to time. Normally, stomach aches  are rather harmless conditions which can be caused by indigestion, gas or overeating. But when it comes to recurring or frequent sharp abdominal pain is often attributed to worry and stress, even in children. Although, it can be due to more serious medical conditions like pancreatic diseases.

The usual harmless abdominal pain mostly subsides or goes away within 2 hours. If you are suffering from the stomach flu, your stomach may hurt at the point or episode of diarrhea or vomiting. But in serious cases, the severe abdominal pains becomes constant or even worsens. Once this is the case, alert an ER Houston to quickly handle the situation.

Based on the facts from Gastroenterologists at UPMC, you need to call for medical attention if mild pain prolongs more than a couple of days, or if the severe abdominal pain is accompanied by other symptoms alongside.

ER medical help

Furthermore, you need to get an ER medical help at once if:

  • You have a very sharp and severe abdominal pain and it happens suddenly.
  • You have a bloody diarrhea or probably vomiting blood.
  • A feeling that your stomach gets hard, stiff and tender to touch.
  • You find it hard to move your bowels, especially if you are vomiting also.

If this is the circumstance you find yourself, you need to call for emergency medical services or ER near you in Houston Texas. Lifesaver Emergency room is adequately prepared for any form of emergencies.

Various Abdominal Pains

1. Stomach cramps with bloating

Stomach cramps with bloating are mostly caused by trapped wind in the body. This is quite common and it is a problem that can be embarrassing but is easily dealt with.

You can visit your pharmacist who will be able to recommend a medical product such as mebeverine or buscopan, which can be bought over the counter to take care of the problem.

2. Sudden stomach cramps with diarrhoea

If you have stomach cramps which started not too long and then you also have diarrhoea, if your stomach cramps have started recently and you also have diarrhoea, the cause may be a tummy bug (gastroenteritis). This means you have a viral or bacterial infection of the stomach and bowel, which should get better without treatment after a few days. The possible causes of gastroenteritis may include coming into contact with a person that’s infected or by consuming contaminated food (food poisoning).

If the bouts of stomach cramps that you are having becomes repeated together with diarrhoea, it may be a long term medical condition that you have, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

3.  Sudden severe abdominal pain

If all of a sudden you feel agonising and sharp pain  in a specific area of your stomach, call for emergency medical services quickly. It may be a symptom of a critical problem that could rapidly grow worse without treatment.

Some serious causes of sudden severe abdominal pain are as follows:

a. Appendicitis: this is the swelling of the appendix, which is in the form of finger-like pouch connected to the large intestine. This is capable of causing serious agonising pain in the lower right hand side of the abdomen, and also implies that your appendix has to be removed.

b. A Perforated or bleeding stomach ulcer: a bleeding, open sore in the lining of your abdomen or duodenum, which is the first part of the small intestine.

c. Acute Cholecystitis: inflammation of the gallbladder, which is usually caused by gallstones, and in most cases your gallbladder will have to be removed.

d. Kidney stones: it is still possible to pass out small stones in your urine, but when it comes to larger stones, they can block the kidney tubes, and you will have to go to the hospital to get them broken down.

e. Diverticulitis: this is caused by inflammation of the small pouches in the bowel which sometimes require treatment by taking antibiotics in the hospital.

In addition to that, sudden and severe abdominal pain can at times be caused by a pulled muscle in your abdomen or by an injury. Even sometimes, they may as well be caused by an infection of the bowel and stomach.

Abdominal pain in children

Abdominal pain in children is  really and mostly frustrating and frightening for parents. The fact being that most times it is hard to find the exact cause of the child’s abdominal pain and what best to do or administer for it to subside. Abdominal pain without any other accompanying symptoms that vanishes completely in less than 3 hours is mostly not serious.

There is the generalized pain and there is the localized pain. The generalized pain is felt in about half of the abdomen or more while the localized pain occurs in just one area of the abdomen. Babies and toddlers tend to react differently to pain compared to older children who talk about their pain. A baby may show it by becoming fussy, or probably drawing his or her legs up toward the stomach, or even eat poorly. But older children may be able to identify and point to the body area of the pain and also explain how serious it is. But whatever the case may be, it is better to be safe than sorry, quickly call for emergency room services to help you examine what it might be and handle it professionally.

Abdominal pain in children can happen one time, or it can occur recurrently over many months. Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) is a medical condition that is common with children of ages 4 to 11. The best thing to do is call for emergency medical services, if you are in Houston Texas, Lifesavers Emergency room is always available to meet your needs.

Make sure you check your child’s symptoms to be able to decide if and when your child should get medical attention.


Abdominal pain in the form of stomach ache happens generally to everyone but when it persists or it becomes sharp, severe and recurring, it becomes an emergency. You need to call for emergency medical attention to cater for your well-being. If not attended to, it can aggravate to be a life threatening situation. You can reach us at Lifesavers Emergency room if you are in Houston Texas.