what happens if your stomach hurts and run to the bathroom
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En español |Everyone has stomach issues from fourth dimension to time, and occasional digestive discomfort is not usually something to worry about. That said, doctors note that at that place are a few gastrointestinal symptoms that you shouldn't write off, considering they could betoken something serious.
"I've seen many cases where patients have waited way too long before seeking medical attention," says Christine Lee, M.D., a gastroenterologist at the Cleveland Clinic.
With studies showing that the coronavirus tin can crusade gastrointestinal symptoms, patients accept even more reason to take nausea, vomiting and prolonged diarrhea seriously, doctors say.
Here are 10 symptoms y'all should never ignore and what they may mean.
ane. Prolonged diarrhea (especially if paired with fever, cough or loss of taste and smell)
Diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms can exist among the first signs of COVID-19 infection, appearing before more well-known symptoms such as cough or fever, says Brennan Spiegel, M.D., director of health services enquiry for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
"Don't wait for a cough or shortness of breath to get tested for COVID" if you have diarrhea, nausea/airsickness or abdominal pain that lasts more a day, Spiegel says.
Studies show that equally many every bit half of COVID-19 patients take gastrointestinal symptoms, and about 15 to 20 percent have only gastrointestinal symptoms. Diarrhea is the well-nigh ofttimes reported GI symptom, followed by nausea/airsickness and abdominal pain. People who examination positive for the omicron variant also report diarrhea as a symptom, according to the ZOE COVID Study app.
Spiegel's research found that COVID-19 patients with diarrhea typically have four to five bouts a day.
"One bout of diarrhea may not hateful anything," Spiegel says. "Merely if yous're having iii or four per day and it is going on two days and yous accept no history of diarrhea, it'due south a skillful idea to talk to your medico, whether we're in a pandemic or non."
If it's not COVID-nineteen, prolonged diarrhea could betoken another type of infection or an underlying condition like ulcerative colitis or irritable bowel syndrome.
ii. Blood in your stool
Whether information technology's bright crimson, maroon or black, seeing claret in the toilet can exist frightening. Fortunately, it's ordinarily not life-threatening, says Nicholas E. Anthony, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Atrium Health in Charlotte, Due north Carolina. The about mutual causes are hemorrhoids and anal fissures (tears in the lining of the anus). But blood in your stool can besides exist one of the first symptoms of colon cancer, especially if information technology's accompanied by a change in your bowel habits or the shape of your stool. Since colon cancer is more common among those over age 50, it'southward especially of import for older adults to run into a doc without filibuster. Other possible causes of bleeding are colon polyps, inflammatory bowel disease, colitis and diverticulosis.
iii. Severe cramps later on eating
Severe cramping is a alarm sign of a bowel obstruction — a serious status that requires immediate medical handling. Information technology'south also a classic symptom of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a chronic digestion disorder that has been on the ascent since the start of the COVID-xix pandemic. Experts aren't sure how COVID-19 is linked to IBS, Spiegel says. It could be that the virus changes the gut microbiome or the lining of the abdominal system, triggering IBS. Or the boost in cases could be caused past pandemic-related stress and anxiety. Other IBS symptoms include abdominal pain (oft related to bowel movements), bloating, gas, diarrhea or constipation.
4. Difficulty swallowing
If you feel like your nutrient is getting stuck in your throat or it hurts every bit information technology'due south going down, that can be a sign of something serious. "The large thing we worry almost is esophageal cancer," Anthony says. Esophageal cancer is more common in adults over 55 and three or four times more likely to occur in men than women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other things that can cause discomfort when you swallow include an infection, an ulcer, a sore or scar tissue (which can develop if yous have chronic acid reflux). In addition, a growing number of people are beingness diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis (EOE), a chronic allergic inflammatory disease that is a major cause of swallowing issues. To pinpoint the crusade of your problem, your gastroenterologist will probably insert a tube with a photographic camera attached to it downward your throat in a procedure called an endoscopy.
v. Unexplained weight loss (particularly if accompanied by abdominal pain)
Weight loss when you haven't changed your diet or practice habits is a common symptom of many serious illnesses, including cancer, Lee says. "Nigh people gain weight as they get older because their metabolism slows down," she says. "If you lot're losing weight without much effort, that's a red flag." See a medico if y'all've dropped five per centum or more of your body weight within half-dozen to 12 months. Although it is a symptom of some types of cancer, a 2014 written report published in the periodical American Family Medico found that in patients over 65, such weight loss is often due to other causes, similar peptic ulcers, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease or an overactive thyroid.
6. Chronic or prolonged constipation (especially if you're having pain)
Almost everyone experiences occasional bouts of constipation, and studies show that it's especially prevalent among older adults. Constipation is typically defined every bit three or fewer bowel movements per calendar week. It may not seem like a big deal, simply if your constipation isn't treated, over time the stools in your colon can become and so big and solid that your body tin can't remove them — and that can be painful or even deadly, Anthony warns. "If it goes longer than seven days, I want to run across you," he says. Constipation can exist acquired by a wide variety of issues, including sure medicines, a diet low in fiber, and medical weather such as irritable bowel syndrome, thyroid problems, diabetes or, in rare cases, colorectal cancer.
7. Sudden, intense abdominal pain
A sharp pain that doesn't let up can bespeak astute appendicitis (if information technology's on your lower correct side), diverticulitis or a serious infection. The context is of import, Lee says, considering muscle cramps and other issues tin also manifest equally sharp pain. "If you're an athlete rock climbing and you get a sharp pain in your belly that only lasts a second, you probably just pulled a muscle," she says. If information technology'southward something serious, she explains, usually the pain keeps escalating and doesn't let upwards.
8. Frequent, severe or worsening heartburn
Occasional heartburn — a burning, uncomfortable awareness in your chest — is common amid older adults and tin can unremarkably be treated with over-the-counter medications. Only if your heartburn is frequent and worsening, or if information technology'south not responding to medication, yous may have gastroesophageal reflux affliction (GERD), a disorder in which the valve between your stomach and esophogus doesn't shut properly. Left untreated, GERD tin lead to complications including erosion or narrowing of the esophagus, or a precancerous condition called Barrett's esophogus. In rare cases, severe heartburn can also signal a more serious condition such as esophageal cancer or a hiatal hernia.
ix. Swollen abdomen
It's not unusual to feel bloated later y'all eat a big meal. Just there's a difference between bloating and distension, an bodily increase in measured abdominal size. "Do you literally meet your belly puffing out? Is it bigger in circumference?" Spiegel asks. If the reply is yes — and the symptom persists after you've had enough of time to digest a repast — information technology can exist a sign that excess fluid or gas is forming in pocket-size intestines as the result of an obstruction, inflammation, bacterial overgrowth or a gastrointestinal illness.
10. Feeling full after eating very little
If yous feel stuffed even though you didn't swallow much, the near common cause is gastroparesis, a condition in which food stays in the stomach longer than it should. Information technology can happen when a astringent illness "stunts the electrical system of the stomach," Anthony says, and then gastroparesis can exist a long-term side effect of COVID-19. Flu, breadbasket surgery and diabetes can as well trigger the status. Although it tin can resolve on its ain, your medico tin can prescribe medications that volition stimulate your stomach to contract and help speed digestion. If it'due south not gastroparesis, other more serious causes of early on satiety include an ulcer, an obstruction or a tumor.
If you don't have 1 of the higher up symptoms, don't let that keep you from seeing a gastroenterologist if you suspect that something's incorrect, Lee says. The earlier yous observe a problem, the more than options you have and the better your chances of success at managing it.
"The longer I do this, the more I realize that information technology doesn't affair what the textbook says — patients know their bodies," Lee says. "If something is not normal for you, then it is a carmine flag, even if it'due south non on the list of top five. If something bothers you, y'all should go it checked out."
Editor's note: This story, published Feb 11, 2020, was updated to include additional symptoms as well as long-term side furnishings related to COVID-xix.
Michelle Hunker is a contributing writer who has covered wellness and personal finance for some of the nation'southward top consumer publications. Her piece of work has appeared inReader'due south Digest, Existent Simple, Prevention, The Washington Post andThe New York Times.
Source: https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2020/stomach-symptoms.html
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