Digestive & Abdomen

Symptoms of the stomach, bowel and abdomen: tummy pain, nausea and vomiting, heartburn and reflux, bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, blood in the stool and changes in bowel habit. Each page covers the usual patterns, diet and infection links, and the red flags that should never be waited out at home.

This page lists all 20 of them in the guide. Open any symptom for its possible causes, red-flag list and frequently asked questions.

Symptom	Category	What it can feel like
Abdominal pain	Digestive	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…
Black stools	Digestive	Black stools that are tarry and sticky (called melaena) usually mean blood has been digested during its passage through the gut, pointing to bleeding in the stomach or…
Bloating	Digestive	Bloating is the feeling — and often the visible fact — of a full, tight, swollen abdomen, usually from gas in the bowel or heightened sensitivity to normal amounts of…
Blood in the stool	Digestive	Blood in the stool means seeing red blood on the paper, in the pan or mixed with the stool, or passing black, tarry stools (which suggests bleeding higher up). Any…
Change in bowel habit	Digestive	A change in bowel habit means your stools have become persistently looser, more frequent, more constipated, or different in pattern from your normal, lasting more than a…
Constipation	Digestive	Constipation means passing stools less often than is normal for you, with hard, dry stools that are difficult or painful to pass, sometimes with straining and a feeling…
Diarrhoea	Digestive	Diarrhoea means loose or watery stools passed more often than usual. Most episodes are caused by infection, last a few days, and the main danger is dehydration.…
Feeling full quickly when eating	Digestive	Feeling full quickly (early satiety) means your stomach feels uncomfortably full after only a few mouthfuls, long before you have eaten a normal meal. Occasional…
Heartburn	Digestive	Heartburn is a burning feeling rising from the upper stomach behind the breastbone, often after meals, when lying flat or bending, sometimes with an acid taste in the…
Indigestion	Digestive	Indigestion (dyspepsia) is a cluster of upper-abdominal symptoms — fullness during or after meals, bloating, belching, mild nausea and a dull ache under the ribs. It is…
Itchy bottom	Digestive	An itchy bottom (pruritus ani) is itching around the anus, often worse at night or after opening the bowels. It is common and usually driven by a cycle of irritation…
Jaundice	Digestive	Jaundice is yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes, caused by a build-up of bilirubin, a yellow pigment made when old red blood cells are broken down. It is a…
Leaking stool (bowel incontinence)	Digestive	Leaking stool — bowel incontinence — means stool or soiling escapes before you reach the toilet, from small stains to full loss of control. It is more common than people…
Mucus in the stool	Digestive	Mucus in the stool means seeing slimy, jelly-like material — white, yellowish or blood-streaked — coating or mixed with the stool. The bowel lining normally makes mucus…
Nausea	Digestive	Nausea is the feeling of sickness — a queasy, unsettled stomach and the sense that you might vomit, often with sweating, salivation and loss of appetite. It is a symptom…
Pain under the right ribs	Digestive	Pain under the right ribs sits over the liver and gallbladder. It ranges from a dull ache after fatty meals to the intense, wave-like pain of a gallstone attack that can…
Passing a lot of wind	Digestive	Passing wind (flatulence) is the release of gas from the bowel, and everyone does it many times a day. More wind than usual usually reflects diet, swallowed air and the…
Swollen abdomen	Digestive	A swollen abdomen means the belly is visibly larger than usual. Some swelling fluctuates with gas and meals; a steadily enlarging abdomen over days to weeks, especially…
Vomiting	Digestive	Vomiting is the forceful emptying of the stomach through the mouth. Most episodes come with stomach bugs and settle within a day or two; the main risks are dehydration…
Vomiting blood	Digestive	Vomiting blood — fresh red blood, or dark material like coffee grounds — means bleeding somewhere in the gullet, stomach or upper bowel. It is always an emergency…

Please note: This page is educational information about a symptom. A symptom alone cannot diagnose any condition, and the causes listed here are possibilities, not a diagnosis. If you are worried about a symptom — especially one that is new, severe, getting worse or not going away — please see your own clinician, who can examine you and arrange tests. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.

Digestive & Abdomen

Medical Videos

Explore

Calculators

Company