In medical practice, pain in the hypochondrium on the right side is a special syndrome that accompanies many ailments with a different nature. These include therapeutic, surgical, gynecological, skin and parasitic pathologies. What can hurt under the right rib in front? A person has several very important organs in this area of ββthe body. Therefore, discomfort indicates a serious problem that requires a thorough medical examination. Only a qualified doctor can determine the cause and make a diagnosis. Problems in which organs give discomfort, what kind of pain happens and how to get rid of it? About this in detail in our article.
What is in the right side under the rib?
Pain in the indicated place is due to pathological processes that occur in the internal organs. On the right are the organs that perform the functions:
- digestion;
- discharge;
- genital
- endocrine.
The trunk is conventionally divided into the hypochondrium, in which the gall bladder, liver, right kidney and adrenal gland, ileum are located, and the pelvic zone - the cecum with the appendix and the ascending segment of the colon, in women - the right ovary. Due to the fact that the lungs begin above the right hypochondrium, the pain is a consequence of the inflammatory process that occurs in the lower lobe of the right lung.
Localization of pain depending on the pathology of internal organs
The nature of the discomfort, depending on the possible diagnosis:
- Inflammation of the gallbladder, myocardial infarction - acute, sharp pain, compressing in the right hypochondrium.
- Lactose deficiency, overeating - short-term, aching pain in the middle of the abdomen.
- Gastritis, gastric ulcer, gastroduodenitis - by nature, the pain syndrome in the epigastrium is diverse: cutting or stitching, dull or sharp, bursting or aching.
- Appendicitis - an acute, dull pain in the lower right abdomen gives to the region of the rectum, when you try to take a horizontal position, that is, lie on your left side, and also increases when walking.
- Gynecological diseases in acute or chronic form - the lower abdomen is unstable, sharp, sudden, pulling pain.
Pain when coughing in the right side. Causes
Coughing pain under the right rib in front occurs for the following reasons:
- Chronic bronchitis - as a result of regular tension of the muscles of the diaphragm.
- Injury - pain is aching and has a limited distribution, in contrast to lung disease, when the pain is spilled. On inspiration, as well as with the slightest movement and cough, the pain syndrome during fracture of the ribs intensifies, the pain becomes strong and sharp. Emergency medical attention and radiography are needed to rule out lung damage.
- Right-sided pleurisy - if you lie on your right side, then the pain goes away. A dangerous symptom is its strengthening under the ribs on the right with coughing and irradiation into the abdominal cavity. If the patient has bloating, increased sweating at night, as well as an increase in temperature, then tuberculosis can be suspected.
- Right-sided pneumonia - during coughing in the chest area, aching pain occurs. The main signs of pneumonia are a strong cough and pain in the right side. However, on palpation, the patient does not feel it. Urgent hospitalization of the individual is required.
- Intercostal neuralgia - as a result of a pinched nerve, any movement or cough aggravates acute pain, giving off under the ribs on the right. With palpation and pressure, discomfort will only be on the site of the irritated nerve ending. If an individual takes a position of the body in which compression of the nerve is excluded, then the pain disappears.
- Oncology - the doctor may suspect a cancer of the right lung when a pain syndrome appears in the side with a coughing fit. An examination is required to confirm the diagnosis.
Causes of Non-Respiratory Cough Pain
Pain in the right side during coughing can be triggered by other pathologies that are not associated with the respiratory tract:
- Inflammation of the intestine - if the pain on the right under the ribs occurs regardless of coughing, then most likely it is appendicitis.
- Gallstone disease - with cough, intensifying pain on the right. With the spread of discomfort in the hypochondrium, an attack of cholecystitis is not excluded.
- How and where does the liver hurt? Ailments with this organ are characterized by aching dull pains on the right under the ribs, intensifying with a strong cough.
- Pancreatitis - causes intense sharp pain on the right, which intensifies with coughing.
- Diaphragm diseases - tingling under the lower rib on the right side is possible with diaphragmatic hernia.
- Cardiac ailments - with angina pectoris and myocardial infarction, cuts from the region of the heart radiate to the right hypochondrium along nerve fibers.
Acute pain
Acute pain on the right under the ribs is a disappointing symptom. Most often in this case, the patient requires emergency medical care. The cause of this condition may be:
- Pinched kidney cysts.
- Rupture of the liver, kidneys as a result of trauma. Hematomas that arose on the liver, prolapse of the kidney due to rupture of ligaments, fracture of ribs.
- An acute attack of cholecystitis or pancreatitis.
- Colic - hepatic or renal.
All of the above injuries and diseases are accompanied by so unbearable, burning pain under the right rib in front that the individual can hardly endure it and often faints. With the mind kept, he behaves uneasily, trying to find a comfortable body position to alleviate the condition. In this case, the patient needs urgent medical care.
Dull and aching pain
Permanent or periodic prolonged painful sensations under the right rib arise due to the following ailments:
- inflammation of the liver in acute and chronic form;
- cholecystitis, pyelonephritis, chronic pancreatitis;
- the presence of parasites in the liver and biliary tract, such as amoeba and giardia;
- cirrhosis of the liver;
- peptic ulcer of the duodenum;
- polyps in the right kidney;
- inflammation of the small intestine - enteritis;
- atypical course of appendicitis;
- female diseases - an inflammatory process in the ovaries and fallopian tubes;
- ailments associated with enlarged spleen - mononucleosis, leukemia, rheumatoid arthritis.
If there are dull, aching, constant or periodic pains under the right rib in front of the patient, he must visit a physician, only after a thorough examination he will make the correct diagnosis and prescribe the necessary therapy. Self-medication is dangerous!
Pain with vegetovascular dystonia
Vegetative-vascular dystonia is associated with a malfunction of the vascular tone of the blood and is complex. A frequent cause of it is the psycho-emotional disorders that appear in excitable people. One sign of weakness is a feeling of pain in the right hypochondrium. It is characterized by different tension and the nature of the manifestation. When examining a patient, the symptoms of the above ailments are not detected. But people complaining of a poor condition sometimes feel severe pain under the right rib in front of the stomach. Such symptoms are called psychogenic. A patient in this condition needs to see a neurologist or psychotherapist to help alleviate the condition.
Pain on the right side under the rib in healthy people
Sometimes colic under the right rib occurs in healthy people. This is manifested in such cases:
- Pregnancy. Pain occurs in the second half of pregnancy, when the grown fetus presses on the internal organs of the mother.
- Physical exercise. When performing intensive physical work or sports exercises, a person who is not constantly engaged in physical labor and sports feels that he is stabbing under his right rib. Why is this happening? An increased amount of adrenaline is released into the blood, increasing blood flow. A large blood vessel, called the vena cava, located in the right hypochondrium, exerts pressure on the liver as a result of expansion. A lumbago arises under the rib, which disappears on its own after a short period of time after the termination of classes.

- Premenstrual syndrome. Sometimes a womanβs body produces a significant amount of estrogen, and before menstruation, she feels how much she stabs under her right rib. In this case, bitterness in the mouth is felt, as well as nausea. This is due to spasm of the biliary tract caused by estrogen. To correct the condition, it is recommended to visit a gynecologist.
Which doctor should I go to?
In acute pain, which is accompanied by loose stools, nausea, vomiting and other restless symptoms, it is necessary to call emergency care. The cause of this condition may be inflammation of the appendix, a blockage with a stone in the bile duct or ureter. In other cases, if the patient is tormented by pain in the right hypochondrium, he should definitely consult a doctor in the near future. The question immediately arises of which doctor to make an appointment with. What is located under the right ribs in a person is approximately known by each of the school biology courses, but it is impossible to determine which organ is unhealthy, so you need to sign up with a general practitioner, a general practitioner. After examination and research, if necessary, he will give a referral to a specialist: surgeon, traumatologist, cardiologist, neurologist, infectious disease specialist or other narrow-profile doctor.
Diagnostics
As already mentioned, on the right side of a person are very important organs involved in digestion, excretion of waste substances from the body, reproduction, respiration. Pain syndrome indicates serious problems. To determine what may hurt under the right rib in front, the diagnosis will help. For a comprehensive study of the patient is carried out:
- Medical history - a doctor is talking with the patient or his relatives, all complaints, manifestations of symptoms, chronic diseases are clarified.
- External examination - attention is paid to the skin, palpation of the abdominal cavity is performed.
The doctor determines the preliminary diagnosis by the general condition of the patient and the nature of the pain and prescribes the following studies to clarify it:
- Laboratory study of biological fluids using special equipment.
- Ultrasound of the abdomen.
- ECG to determine myocardial function.
- Endoscopic examination of the biliary tract, rectum, stomach.
- CT or MRI of the peritoneal organs.
After studying all the results of the examination, the therapist has an opinion that he may be ill under the right rib in front, a preliminary diagnosis is made and the patient is sent to the appropriate narrow specialist, who will continue his treatment.
Therapy
Pain in the right side is only a symptom of ailment that occurred when an organ was damaged. Neglect of it, self-administration of painkillers and vasodilators complicates the diagnosis and often leads to a chronic form of the disease. Therefore, if any discomfort in the study area is identified, you should consult a doctor. He will determine that he can hurt under the right rib in front. After the diagnosis is established, therapy is prescribed, in which different methods are used. To do this, apply:
- Dietary nutrition. The patient is invited to refuse fatty, spicy, as well as fried foods. And with acute pancreatitis, the first few days show starvation.
- Drug treatment. With inflammation of any organ, antibacterial agents are used; for malignant neoplasms, radiation, chemo and radiotherapy are prescribed. Analgesics and antispasmodics are used to relieve severe pain.
- Surgical intervention. Assign in exceptional cases when there are no other methods of dealing with acute, sharp, stitching and pressing pain under the right rib in front.
- Folk remedies. They are suitable only as an additional drug to the main drugs. Use infusions, decoctions, ointments, oils, prepared on the basis of various medicinal herbs and vegetables. All recipes are used only after consultation with your doctor.
During treatment, all doctor's recommendations, diet and daily routine must be observed.
What to do with pain in the right side under the ribs?
It is recommended to call a medical team if there is pain in the right hypochondrium, which is of the nature:
- acute
- aching and lasting for a long time;
- stitching, manifested by movement and lasting more than half an hour.
In other cases, before visiting a doctor, you should put a cold compress under the right ribs.
It is strictly forbidden:
- Putting a warm heating pad on the affected area, the condition of the individual will worsen.
- Take painkillers and antispasmodics, the symptoms of the disease will be erased, which will complicate the diagnosis.
In the near future after an attack, you must definitely consult a doctor!
Conclusion
To the question of what is under the right ribs of a person, many will answer - the liver, so they believe that pain in this place can only be from this organ. As explained above, colic, pain and aches depend on various ailments in the internal organs. Therefore, when the first symptoms appear, you should consult a doctor without delay.