Why does the stomach hurt at night? The cause of this condition can be a variety of gastroenterological diseases. Often, pain is also provoked by pathologies of nearby organs. A characteristic sign of such ailments is good health during the day and the occurrence of pain only at night or in the morning. What can be associated with such a symptomatology? And how to stop discomfort? We will consider these issues in the article.
Why pain occurs at night
Quite often, stomach pains bother a person exclusively at night. In the morning and afternoon, the patient's health returns to normal. Why does the stomach hurt at night, but not during the day?
At night, the digestive system is not as active as during the day. During sleep, peristalsis of the digestive tract decreases. Nutrient absorption is also reduced. The stomach functions in "sleep" mode. Against this background, a person aggravates all disorders in the work of the digestive tract. The autonomic nervous system signals distress to the brain, and the patient experiences pain. During active digestion during the day, discomfort does not occur.
A person usually does not eat food at night. The interval between dinner and bedtime is usually about 4 to 6 hours. And on an empty stomach, pain is felt especially strongly. This is due to the effect of hydrochloric acid on the mucous membrane of the organ.
The pose of a person during sleep also matters. In a certain position of the body, the stomach is compressed. If the patient is healthy, then this does not affect his health. But with chronic pathologies of the digestive system, squeezing the stomach can provoke painful sensations.
Varieties of pain
Why does my stomach hurt at night? How to identify the cause of discomfort? Only a doctor can accurately answer this question. However, you should listen to your feelings. This will help at least suggest the most likely cause of the pain syndrome.
Doctors divide the pain in the stomach into the following types:
- Visceral. This type of pain is provoked by irritation of the receptors in the peritoneum. Unpleasant sensations are diffuse and do not have a clear localization. The patient often cannot even understand exactly where it hurts, because discomfort is felt in the entire abdomen. Usually, such symptoms are noted in inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract.
- Parietal. Such a pain syndrome is also associated with irritation of the nerve endings in the peritoneum. However, this discomfort has a clear localization. The patient can indicate exactly where he feels pain. When a person turns over in a dream, discomfort usually worsens. This is a characteristic symptom of many gastrointestinal pathologies.
- Reflex. Pain syndrome radiates to the stomach from other organs. In this case, the lesion focus can be at a fairly large distance from the digestive system. For example, with myocardial infarction, the pain can be localized not in the heart, but in the stomach, which often makes diagnosis difficult. The same type of pain is observed with appendicitis and cholecystitis.
- Neurogenic. This type of pain is not associated with pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, its cause is damage to the peripheral nerves. Such symptoms are most often observed in severe complications of diabetes mellitus - neuropathy. The pains are shooting in nature. They occur and stop suddenly, an attack often occurs at night, but does not last long.
- Psychogenic. There are cases when a comprehensive examination does not reveal any pathologies in the patient. However, a person periodically has a stomach ache at night. The cause of this can be frequent stress. Psychogenic pains are not stopped by antispasmodics or analgesics. They disappear only after taking sedatives. Psychogenic abdominal pain more often occurs in children than in adults.
Physiological reasons
Sometimes a person’s stomach aches at night for completely natural reasons. This can be triggered by the following factors:
- overeating in the evening;
- physical activity before bedtime;
- overly strict diet;
- eating spicy and fatty foods for dinner.
The above reasons provoke spasms of the muscles of the digestive tract. As a result, the patient has a stomach ache at night. What to do in such a situation? You can get rid of such pain quite easily. To do this, it is enough in the evening to avoid hard physical work and not to eat excessive amounts of heavy food for dinner.
In patients who follow strict diet for weight loss, night pain can be caused by hunger. They are accompanied by weakness and a slight nausea. Unpleasant sensations usually quickly disappear after a person eats a little. At night it is recommended to drink a glass of low-fat kefir, this will help prevent hunger pains.
Pathological causes
There are times when a patient has a stomach ache at night for several hours. The causes of such a prolonged pain syndrome are most often associated with the following pathologies:
- ulcerative processes in the stomach and intestines;
- gastritis;
- pancreatitis
- cholecystitis;
- appendicitis
- diseases of the large intestine;
- myocardial infarction (in atypical form).
Next, we will consider in detail the most common causes of night pain in the epigastric region.
Ulcerative processes
With an ulcer, a person often has a stomachache at night. The reason for this is the effect of hydrochloric acid on erosion. Pain usually occurs when fasting at night. It is expressed quite intensively, especially in young patients.
Usually, stomach ulcer pain occurs 2 to 4 hours after supper. They disappear after taking antacids or alkaline mineral water. These products neutralize hydrochloric acid. Also, eating helps to stop discomfort. Pain often decreases with a change in body position during sleep.
Peptic ulcers are usually accompanied by heartburn, belching, and nausea. During the attack, vomiting may occur, which brings tangible relief. Approximately half of patients suffer from constipation.
If the patient has a stomachache after night in the morning, but this indicates the localization of the ulcer in the duodenum. Pain occurs in the upper intestine. However, they often radiate into the stomach. Such an attack causes the patient to wake up early to drink water and relieve pain. However, this only helps for a short time. The pain syndrome is coming back soon.
Chronic gastritis
If a person is sick at night and has a stomach ache, then most often patients associate such symptoms with food poisoning. However, this may be a sign of a chronic form of gastritis. With poisoning by poor-quality food, the patient usually has diarrhea. With gastritis, diarrhea may not be, much more often, patients suffer from constipation.
Most often, patients with high acidity suffer from night pain. This is due to the irritating effect of gastric juice on the mucous membrane. Pain syndrome is often expressed and is aching in nature. Unpleasant sensations can be repeated almost every night, they are stopped by taking antacid drugs.
There are times when with chronic gastritis the stomach hurts at night and in the morning. This often happens in patients who violate the prescribed diet. The use of prohibited foods leads to constipation and pain, which disappears only in the afternoon. In such cases, the patient needs to normalize his diet.
Pancreatitis
Night pains are characteristic of chronic and acute pancreatitis. They are first localized in the left or right upper abdomen, and then take a girdling character. It seems to a person that his stomach, sides and lower back hurt at the same time. Relief occurs when the patient sits down and tilts the body forward.
The attack is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- decreased appetite;
- heartburn;
- nausea and vomiting, which does not bring relief.
Pain can be stopped at home only with diagnosed pancreatitis. The Nosh-py tablet will significantly reduce discomfort. If the cause of the girdle pain is not established, then it is necessary to call a doctor.
Cholecystitis
With this pathology, pain can radiate from the gallbladder to the stomach. They intensify with inspiration and coughing. There are cases when the pain syndrome occurs not in the right ileal zone, but in the epigastrium.
Night pain with cholecystitis often appears when a person is sleeping on his right side. The attack is accompanied by nausea, weakness and an unpleasant bitter aftertaste in the mouth. A sharp increase in pain during palpation of the gallbladder is noted.
Stopping pain with cholecystitis at home is quite difficult. Usually, antispasmodics help, but it’s better not to use these drugs on your own. You can give the patient a pill "Allohol." This product contains only natural ingredients and effectively eliminates stagnation of bile. However, this drug is recommended to be taken only after a meal, and the patient usually has no appetite during an attack.
Appendicitis
An attack of appendicitis often overtakes a person at night. With inflammation of the process of the cecum (appendix), pain is usually localized in the right side of the abdominal cavity. However, at the beginning of an attack, the umbilical region often hurts in a person. Therefore, patients can take the symptoms of incipient appendicitis for signs of gastric pathology.
With appendicitis, a person usually wakes up at night from a sudden sharp pain. As the attack develops, the pain moves from the umbilical zone to the right iliac region. This is often accompanied by weakness and nausea.
Urgently call an ambulance crew. Before her arrival, the patient should remain in a supine position. The patient should not be given painkillers, otherwise it will be difficult for doctors to make a diagnosis. In no case should you put a heating pad on your stomach, this can cause dangerous complications.
Colon disease
Night pains are characteristic of the following pathologies of the large intestine:
- colitis;
- Crohn's disease;
- organ tumors.
The main focus of pain is localized in the lower abdomen on the left. However, reflex pain can be given to the stomach. The patient also has other symptoms:
- bloody mucus diarrhea;
- bloating;
- increased gas formation;
- rumbling in the abdomen.
The pains are cramping in nature. They are well stopped by antispasmodics. However, such drugs can only be used as prescribed by a doctor. At home, you can only take enterosorbents (activated carbon and its analogues) or put an enema with a decoction of medicinal herbs (chamomile or St. John's wort).
Myocardial infarction
If the patient has a stomachache at night, then this is far from always associated with pathologies of the digestive system. Such symptoms can be a sign of the abdominal form of myocardial infarction, in which the pain is localized not in the sternum, but in the abdomen. A heart attack very often occurs precisely at night. This form of heart attack is characteristic of patients with diabetes mellitus.
The pains are very intense, they are accompanied by jumps in blood pressure, a sense of fear, intense anxiety, nausea and vomiting. The skin looks pale and is covered with cold sweat. The pain syndrome does not stop with gastric drugs, but it somewhat decreases after taking Nitroglycerin.
If such symptoms occur in a patient, one should not hesitate. It is necessary to immediately call an ambulance, otherwise a fatal outcome is very likely. The patient needs urgent hospitalization in the intensive care unit of the hospital.
First aid
Suppose a person has a stomach ache for a long time at night. What to do to help the patient? If pain occurs regularly, you must consult a gastroenterologist. For severe and intolerable pain, an ambulance should be called immediately. This can be a sign of serious pathologies, which sometimes require emergency hospitalization and surgical intervention.
At the pre-medical stage, the patient needs first aid. To do this, take the following measures:
- You can give the patient a glass of sweet tea. This will help relieve hunger pain. However, if the pain syndrome is accompanied by vomiting and black stools, then the person should not be given neither drink nor eat. This is a sign of bleeding from the stomach, which often occurs in patients with advanced ulcers.
- You can also give the patient some cold water. This will help reduce discomfort.
- In no case should you apply heat to a sore spot. It can only increase inflammation. With appendicitis, a warm compress can provoke the development of peritonitis. Applying a heating pad only helps with cholecystitis. However, at home it is very difficult to distinguish gallbladder inflammation from appendicitis. Therefore, it is better not to experiment with warming.
- Experts do not recommend giving analgesics and antispasmodics to the patient at the pre-medical stage. This reduces pain, but significantly complicates the diagnosis.
- If the patient suffers from gastritis with high acidity, then you can give him a drink of low-fat chicken broth or a mint broth. This will reduce the effect of gastric juice on the mucosa.
Further assistance should be provided by the doctor. Self-medication in such cases is unacceptable. Only a specialist can carry out the necessary diagnostic procedures and prescribe the correct therapy.