- Gastro esophageal reflux disease or GERD is a common cause of
complaint among older individuals, and are often mistaken for 'heartburn'. It
usually causes pain and burning sensations in the upper abdominal region and
the lower chest. What happens is that the food and the stomach acids, kept in
place by two sphincters, manage to get out and flow into your esophagus,
irritating its fragile and delicate lining. This causes the pain. GERD most
commonly occurs after you lie down or while you are sleeping.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) - Studies show that incidences of
gastrointestinal diseases are on the rise and irritable bowel syndrome is even
more common now. IBS is not a disease but it is a group of symptoms such as
constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, and abdominal cramping that occur at
random combination or together causing abdominal pain, and may often go
unidentified. Abdominal gas and bloating are also common. IBS can be caused by
combination of mental (depression, anxiety etc.) and physical (bacterial
infection, food sensitivity, hormones or chemicals) health problems.
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) - Yet another common cause of
abdominal pain, particularly in women, pelvic inflammatory disease is an
infection of the female reproductive system. This is usually caused by a
sexually transmitted disease like gonorrhea or Chlamydia virus, and may cause
pain during sexual activity, or afterward.
Cancer - Cancer is also thought to be one of the major causes of
stomach pain. Tumors in the abdominal and near-abdominal region like the ovary,
the uterus, the liver, the bladder, the kidney etc may be the reason of stomach
pain in women.
Heart
attack - Yes heart attack! Women in particular, tend to
pass away a minor stomach pain, which often, claims lives, because it's
actually a heart attack. Some additional symptoms such as nausea, fainting,
vomiting, shortness of breath, and also sweating should not be ignored.
Source: Medindia
