Situations when the stomach hurts in the navel area are very dangerous. This condition may indicate the development of various diseases. Everything is complicated by the fact that a person cannot specify in which specific area of the abdomen he feels pain. It seems to him that spasm does not have a clear localization. The pain seems to spread throughout the stomach.
Determining the cause of this phenomenon can be quite difficult. Let's try to figure it out. Why can the stomach hurt in the navel and what to do in such a situation.
Where does it hurt?
There are many causes of abdominal pain in the navel. Before proceeding with their identification, it is worth answering several questions:
- Where exactly is the pain localized (navel itself, above or below it)?
- What kind of pain is (pulling, acute)?
- How strong is she?
- Are there any factors during which the pain intensifies?
Next, we consider possible diseases during which a stomach ache in the navel in adults.
Acute intestinal pathology
In this case, abdominal pain in the navel can be accompanied by flatulence. As a rule, such drugs as activated carbon, Smecta, or simethicone can easily cope with them.
Bowel diseases can have various etiologies: parasitic, viral, bacterial. In cases when they become chronic, abdominal pain in the navel becomes pulling and permanent. At the same time, an increase in an unpleasant symptom with food is observed.
Chronic enteritis
With this disease, pain can be described as aching and dull. She does not depend on food intake. As a rule, with chronic enteritis, patients feel heaviness after a hearty dinner. In some cases, bloating and loss of appetite are also observed.
In addition to painful sensations, chronic enteritis is accompanied by symptoms such as:
- weakness;
- fragility of nails;
- dry skin
- bleeding gums;
- fatigue.
The cause of the ailment is usually a previously transmitted intestinal infection or giardiasis.
Acute appendicitis
Among all diseases of the abdominal organs, he is diagnosed most often.
The main symptoms of appendicitis: a stomach ache in the navel and the temperature rises to around 37-38 degrees. The disease begins suddenly. At first, the patient complains of pain in different areas of the abdomen, but gradually it begins to shift to its lower right side. Additional symptoms are:
- dry mouth
- weakness;
- constipation;
- increased pain when lying on the left side;
- bloating.
On palpation, the patient feels a sharp pain, which will only worsen as the pressure decreases.
Acute appendicitis requires surgery.
Umbilical hernia
In addition to the fact that with a hernia, the stomach hurts in the navel and is sick, you can also observe a visual manifestation of the problem - an elongated formation. The disease is also accompanied by:
- vomiting
- difficulties with a chair;
- increased gas formation.
Pain in the presence of a hernia is sharp.
Abdominal migraine
Most often, adolescents suffer from the disease. It also affects people who are overly emotional, overworked or experiencing stress. A stomach ache in the navel can hurt from a couple of hours and up to several days. At the same time, other, no less unpleasant symptoms join in:
- headache;
- vomiting
- diarrhea;
- rumbling in the stomach;
- pallor of the skin;
- numbness of the limbs.
Intestinal inversion
The stomach in the umbilical region can be seriously ill because of intestinal inversion. Usually the disease occurs suddenly. Sharp pains begin in the navel and in the right abdomen. There are some additional signs of the disease, such as:
- constipation
- painful cramps;
- vomiting
- flatulence.
Very often, patients take various drugs with an antispasmodic effect to suppress an unpleasant symptom. It is worth noting that they are effective and the pain recedes. It only comes back soon, since for its complete elimination it is necessary to cure a progressive illness.
Acute gastroenteritis
The disease is an inflammation of the intestines and stomach, which can occur as a result of:
- food poisoning;
- infection with pathogens of salmonella, cholera, dysentery, Escherichia coli;
- helminthic invasion;
- surgical interventions;
- toxicoinfection.
In addition to pain in the navel, gastroenteritis can be accompanied by:
- severe diarrhea (in some cases with impurities of blood);
- repeated vomiting;
- weakness
- dizziness.
Abundant drinking and intake of enterosorbents will help to get rid of them.
Dysbacteriosis
With dysbiosis, the abdomen in the navel can also hurt. In adults, a similar phenomenon occurs after prolonged use of antibiotics. In addition to discomfort in the stomach, it is often accompanied by digestive disorders and diarrhea.
Solving the problem is quite simple. It is necessary to undergo a course of treatment with special drugs that contain lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. For example, it can be "Biokefir".
Crohn's disease
This disease usually occurs between the ages of 12-18 and is almost never diagnosed in adults. It is accompanied by:
- bloating;
- paroxysmal pain along the intestines;
- joint pains;
- diarrhea with impurities of blood.
Most often, boys suffer from it.
Diverticulitis
If a diverticulum (saccular mass from a thinned intestinal wall) occurs, the patient complains that his stomach hurts in the navel and temperature. In addition, there are signs of intoxication.
Such formations cannot disappear on their own. They are treated with antimicrobial agents or surgical intervention.
Bowel obstruction
In this case, the pain builds up gradually and eventually becomes bursting, very strong. The disease occurs due to malfunctions of the digestive process, lack of enzymes, dysbiosis, inflammation, tumors that violate the motility of the small intestine.
With intestinal obstruction, the food mass cannot move along it, as a result of which vomiting occurs, and stool and gas discharge are delayed.
Before prescribing therapy, a specialist will need to identify the cause of the problem. And this means that the patient is necessarily hospitalized.
Intestinal allergic reaction
The occurrence of a problem is facilitated by the presence of individual intolerance to certain foods. When they enter the intestine, the development of an allergic reaction begins. The process is accompanied by:
- nausea
- vomiting
- headache and dizziness;
- the appearance of rashes on the body.
Most often, allergens are dairy products, mushrooms and cane sugar.
Pancreatitis
In adult women and men, a stomach ache in the navel can also be due to chronic pancreatitis. This is due to insufficient intake of pancreatic enzymes in the intestine. As a rule, patients with pancreatitis often suffer from diarrhea.
The treatment of pancreatitis will consist of taking enzymatic preparations that will improve the breakdown of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. In the future, in order to avoid the recurrence of pain, the patient will have to give up alcohol and follow a strict diet.
Bowel cancer
Perhaps this is one of the worst causes of pain in the navel. Additional symptoms of bowel cancer will include:
- cramping
- nausea;
- vomiting
- loss of appetite;
- stool delays;
- increased gas formation;
- sudden weight loss.
In most cases, neoplasms in the small intestine are benign. Tumors are found there very rarely.
Other options
Above were considered the most common options.
Constant abdominal pain in the navel can be triggered by other diseases, such as:
- ulcer;
- gastritis;
- damage to the autonomic nervous system;
- cystitis;
- poor blood supply to the abdominal cavity;
- pelvic inflammation;
- abdominal aortic aneurysm;
- ovarian cancer;
- uterine cancer;
- uterine fibroma.
Pregnancy and abdominal pain
If the stomach hurts in the navel during pregnancy, this does not always indicate the presence of serious diseases. Sometimes the reasons lie in the strong tightening of the skin in the later stages. As a rule, pain attacks in this case are of a short-term nature. The only thing that can happen with strong skin tension is the appearance of stretch marks. There is nothing dangerous about it.
Also, the cause of discomfort and abdominal pain can be a displacement of the internal organs by the growing uterus or weakness of the abdominal muscles. If it is precisely in them, then the situation normalizes independently almost immediately after the birth of the baby. Expectant mother will just have to wait a bit.
Other causes of pain in the navel that are not harmful to the health of a pregnant woman include:
- Sprain and uterine tissue. The process is due to hormonal changes at the beginning of pregnancy and may be accompanied by slight discomfort.
- Uterine growth. Mild tingling or pulling pains begin to bother the expectant mother, starting from the 20th week of pregnancy.
- Decreased intestinal motility. Many expectant mothers suffer from this problem. It can occur in the second trimester of pregnancy. Due to the fact that the movement of food through the intestines slows down, a woman begins to complain of flatulence and constipation.
- Strongly gained weight.
- Active baby movements. In this case, the pain is short-lived and occurs only during the activity of the baby.
At the same time, painful sensations often arise precisely because of ailments. This can be one of the options discussed above, or those that occur exclusively during pregnancy or only in women:
- placental abruption;
- damage to the blood vessels of the placenta;
- ectopic pregnancy (in the early stages);
- gynecological diseases;
- pathology of the genitourinary system.
A gynecologist should be consulted when the pain is long-lasting, accompanied by the appearance of spotting, fever above 37.6 degrees and other frightening symptoms.
What to do?
You can’t ignore the body’s signals and try to figure out why the stomach hurts in the navel! It is important to remember that it is here that the majority of vital organs are concentrated:
- stomach;
- intestines;
- liver;
- pancreas;
- uterus and appendages (in women).
When a pain syndrome occurs, it is necessary to call an ambulance, take a comfortable position (on the back, legs bent). It is not recommended to warm the stomach, put an enema and take painkillers, laxatives or antidiarrheal drugs. During some diseases, this can provoke the development of complications and complicate further diagnosis.
Also, do not give the patient to eat and drink before the doctor arrives.
Diagnosing the cause of pain
Before prescribing treatment, a specialist should find out the cause of the onset of pain.
A doctor cannot make a diagnosis solely on the basis of patient complaints. You will need to pass one or more laboratory tests, as well as undergo additional examinations.
- General blood analysis. Its results will help determine the presence of inflammatory processes or an allergic reaction (ESR will increase), signs of bleeding and anemia (hemoglobin and red blood cells will decrease).
- Examination of feces for coprology. The presence of mucus in it, undigested particles of food, and so on. With the help of bacteriosis, dysbiosis is detected and the cause of infectious enteritis is established.
- Analysis of feces for Gregersen reaction. Helps detect the appearance of blood particles. This is especially true for suspected ulcerative bleeding.
- Taking a smear or scraping to detect helminths. It is not carried out in all cases, but only when such a need arises.
- X-ray Signs of intestinal obstruction, dyskinesia (atony, spasm), ulcerative changes (including Crohn's disease) are detected.
- Computed and magnetic resonance imaging.
- Video capsule. A modern device helps to examine all sections of the digestive tract within 8 hours. Thanks to the video capsule, you can assess the condition of the intestinal lining, identify the presence of ulcers, tumors, and cicatricial changes.
Treatment methods
So, we found out the main reasons why the stomach hurts in the navel. How to treat this or that disease, the gastroenterologist will prompt.
First of all, a decision will be made on the need for hospitalization of the patient. If during the examination there were no suspicions of the development of serious diseases, and the pain itself is rather weak, treatment is allowed at home.
In any of the cases, drug therapy may include the use of several groups of drugs:
- Painkillers. They will help eliminate discomfort and relieve spasm. Most often prescribed drugs such as No-shpa, Papaverine, Drotaverin. The required dosage will depend on the weight of the patient and is calculated individually. It is important to consider that painkillers can be taken no more than three days in a row.
- "Phosphalugel." The drug is used during the treatment of many intestinal diseases and has virtually no restrictions. The product perfectly neutralizes the acidity of the stomach, has an adsorbing and enveloping effect.
- Sorbents. Drugs from this group remove toxic substances from the body and relieve heartburn, bloating, and diarrhea. The most popular means are Smecta, activated carbon, Polysorb, Enterosgel. But even such safe means have contraindications for use. They are strictly prohibited in case of malabsorption of galactose, lack of sucrose and bowel obstruction.
- Enzyme preparations. In most cases, Mezim, Pancreatin or Creon are prescribed. They improve motor function and eliminate the lack of enzymes in the digestive system.
At the same time, each of the diseases also has its own separate treatment plan, which will be introduced to the patient in more detail after determining the final diagnosis.
Preventive measures
In most cases, the appearance of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and, as a result, pain in the navel, are associated with malnutrition and a sedentary lifestyle. Therefore, the main preventive measure will be the exclusion of these factors.
Equally important is the timely treatment of chronic diseases in order to avoid their exacerbation.
We must not forget about regular preventive examinations that will help determine the problem at the stage of its inception.
Be healthy!