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Abdominal pain
Category: Digestive & Abdomen · All digestive symptoms
What it can feel like
Abdominal pain is pain anywhere between the ribs and the pelvis — cramping, sharp, dull, constant or coming in waves. Where it sits, how it behaves and what comes with it (fever, vomiting, bowel change) are the clues clinicians use, and severe or worsening abdominal pain should always be assessed promptly.
Possible causes
A symptom can have many causes, and most are not serious. The lists below group conditions this symptom can be associated with — common causes first. They are possibilities to discuss with a clinician, not a diagnosis.
Common causes
Abdominal pain can be associated with indigestion, trapped wind, constipation, stomach bugs, period pain, urinary infections and muscle strain. These common causes often settle over a day or two.
Other possible causes
Abdominal pain can also be associated with appendicitis, gallstones, kidney stones, ulcers, inflammation of the bowel or pancreas, and gynaecological emergencies — patterns that usually declare themselves by severity, location and accompanying symptoms.
Red flags — when to seek help promptly
- Severe abdominal pain, or pain that is steadily worsening
- Pain with a rigid, board-like tummy, or collapse
- Pain with vomiting blood, blood in the stool or black stools
- Abdominal pain in pregnancy, or with shoulder-tip pain or fainting
- Pain with high fever, yellowing of the eyes or inability to pass urine
What a clinician may do
A clinician will ask where the pain is, when it started and what eases or worsens it, then examine your abdomen and check temperature and pulse. Blood tests, a urine test and pregnancy test where relevant are usual; scans such as ultrasound or CT follow the suspected cause.
Watch: related videos
Examination and clinical videos from the MedicalVideos.com library relevant to this symptom. Some clinical footage is graphic — that is the nature of a medical video library.
Related guides on MedicalVideos.com
Frequently asked questions
When is tummy pain an emergency?
Pain that is severe, worsening, wakes you from sleep, or comes with vomiting, fever, a hard swollen tummy, blood in vomit or stool, fainting, or pain in pregnancy — any of these should be assessed immediately rather than waited out.
Why does the doctor press in different places?
Different organs sit in different areas, and the pattern of tenderness — plus how pain changes with pressing and releasing — helps distinguish, for example, appendix pain in the right lower abdomen from gallbladder pain under the right ribs.
Related symptoms — Digestive & Abdomen
Browse the A section of the A–Z list or return to the Symptoms A–Z hub.