When to Worry About Abdominal Pain

In previous articles, I’ve given mystery symptoms and shown how doctors make the diagnosis. But something needs to happen before the doctor can make a diagnosis: the patient has to come in. Deciding when to worry about symptoms is one of the hardest decisions. On the one hand, you don’t want to feel foolish coming in for something small; on the other, you don’t to want sit at home with a serious problem.

According to a prior study, over a third of abdominal pain complaints in the emergency room are discharged without a known cause. How can doctors send a patient home without finding the specific cause of a patient’s abdominal pain? The truth is that we are trained to search for “red flags,” or more serious symptoms. 

So what are these red flags? When should you worry about any sort of upper abdominal pain or middle stomach pain?

When to worry about abdominal pain

In my series, “When to Worry….” I try to give you guidelines as to when a symptom is worrisome, and when it is OK to wait to seek help. Let me emphasize, however, that this is general advice that doesn’t apply to all circumstances. It is far better to be seen for a problem that ends up not being serious than to sit at home with a dangerous condition.

It’s two in the morning and you wake up with pain in your abdomen, or perhaps your child wakes you up with a stomach ache. When should you seek immediate help, when should you make a doctor’s appointment, and when is it OK to wait? 

When the pain is accompanied by any of the following systems, it's a good idea to call your doctor:  

1. Severity
2. Persistence
3. Tenderness
4. Loss of appetite
5. Vomiting
6. Blood in bowel movements
7. Melena
8. Dizziness

Let's discuss why. 

Anatomy of the abdomen

The abdomen is divided into five sections. 

1. Upper right quadrant
2. Upper left quadrant
3. Upper middle section
4. Right lower section
5. Lower left quadrant

The location of the pain can sometimes help doctors tell whether pain is worrisome or not. Here are descriptions of the main regions:

Upper right quadrant: The...

Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips