Swelling and abdominal pain

Often bloating and low-intensity pain occurs during overeating. These symptoms last for an hour. This time will be required in order to partially empty the stomach and a portion of food entered the duodenum, where the splitting process continues and suction begins.

The severity in the abdomen can be felt after certain foods or if you use incompatible dishes, for example, herring with milk. But if the stomach is swollen and it hurts a long time after eating or the symptoms are not associated with eating, this indicates the development of the pathology of the digestive system. The faster the cause of increased gas production, the less the risk of complications.

Where in the digestive tract gas

Meteorism in translation from Greek means "uplifting", "bloating", as synonyms can also be used concepts "tympania" or "whipping".These terms mean excessive accumulation of gases in the abdominal cavity, which happens if a lot of gas is formed or it can not be effectively eliminated from the body.

Normally, the amount of gas in the intestines varies depending on the characteristics of nutrition, activity, age and other factors. Gases are usually in the stomach and in the place of turn of the colon, much less concentrated in the sigmoid and caecum, and very little in the jejunum.

Gases in the abdomen appear:

• when swallowed;
• are excreted during digestion( most);
• when neutralizing digestive secretions with bicarbonates;
• a small volume can penetrate the intestine from the blood.

In gas formation, a large role is played by the bacteria of the large intestine

Causes of bloating of the stomach

One of the most common causes of what belches and hurts the stomach is wrong nutrition. Some products help increase gas production. If a person consumes a lot of flour products and products containing yeast, as well as cabbage in any form or legumes, then during their splitting, a lot of gas is formed, which leads to stretching of the organ walls and abdominal pain.

Normally, the unconsolidated food components should not enter the large intestine:

• carbohydrates begin to break down in the mouth under the action of saliva enzymes( amylases and maltases).The process continues in the stomach and small intestine, where carbohydrates break down to glucose, which penetrates into the cell and oxidizes to water and carbon dioxide, or turns into fat or glycogen;
• proteins in the stomach are exposed to hydrochloric acid, as a result of which they swell and denature. Then pepsin breaks them down to amino acids that penetrate into the blood and are transformed by cells to the necessary protein molecules;
• a small part of the fat breaks down in the stomach under the action of lipase. The main process of digestion takes place in the small intestine due to the action of acids and enzymes.

Thus, all food should be split even before it enters the large intestine. In the unchanged form, only water, vitamins and microelements, as well as indigestible substances( for example, cellulose) penetrate here.

If there are too many carbohydrates in a person's diet and they can not split for the time that they pass the stomach and duodenum, then they find themselves in the large intestine and begin to wander. In the process of fermentation, alcohol, organic acids, acetone, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and other organic compounds are formed.

If the proteins penetrate the large intestine, then they begin to decay under the action of bacterial enzymes, resulting in the formation of methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, acetic and lactic acid, toxins. These compounds adversely affect the intestinal mucosa and lead to the fact that the stomach hurts from the resulting gases.

The more food there is in putrefactive bacteria, the faster they will displace useful intestinal flora( dysbacteriosis will develop).If there is a violation of the splitting of fats, which may be due to the hormonal background, proteins and carbohydrates are poorly digested, since fat surrounds the food molecules and does not allow enzymes to affect them.

Fermentation and decay can occur not only in the large intestine, the process can begin in the stomach if insufficient hydrochloric acid and trypsin are released. In this case, pain occurs in the upper abdomen and the disease is accompanied by dyspeptic disorders.

It is rotting and fermentation that leads to the formation of gas in the abdominal cavity, but the reasons for which these processes occur are different.

Penetration of proteins and carbohydrates into the large intestine can be due to the development of organic or functional pathology, and also to be a variant of the norm.

If motor skills are reduced, putrefaction and fermentation begins in the stomach or small intestine, as food stagnates. If the peristalsis is increased, the enzymes do not have time to split the components before they enter the large intestine.

Even in the absence of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract( GIT) with overeating, drinking carbonated drinks or an unbalanced diet, swelling and abdominal pain will occur.

Some of the air in the stomach is swallowed while drinking or eating food. Normally, it comes out through the mouth with belching. But if there is an unpleasant taste in the mouth or a gas with a sour smell, this indicates serious gastrointestinal diseases.

Bloating and abdominal pain is felt not only with an unbalanced diet and not always to eliminate symptoms it is necessary to revise the

diet. In some cases, the cause of abdominal pain in a serious organic pathology, in which the activity of the gastrointestinal tract is impaired. This leads to a lack of enzymes necessary for the cleavage of proteins, fats or carbohydrates.

In the pathology of the gallbladder, pancreas, stomach or intestine, enzymes or hormones that do not digest food or contribute to this process are not synthesized. There are many factors that cause bloating and abdominal pain.

For practical purposes, there are:

• Alimentary meteorism .It develops due to the splitting of products that promote increased gas production. A lot of gas is released when eating foods with a high content of fiber and starch. These are legumes( peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts), potatoes, black bread, any cabbage.
• The flatulence that occurs due to a digestive disorder of the .Enzymatic insufficiency, impaired suction function, dysbacteriosis lead to rotting and fermentation in the digestive tract. With these processes, a lot of gas is released, the stomach can swell after eating.
• Mechanical flatulence .Develops due to the deterioration of the evacuation function. That is, gases accumulate in a certain part of the intestine, because they can not pass further because of the presence of some obstacle. These can be spikes, neoplasms, stenosis, fecal stones.
• Dynamic flatulence .It arises because of a violation of the motility of the gastrointestinal tract. Gases are poorly excreted in peritonitis, aerophagia, acute infections and poisonings, after childbirth or vagotomy. This form includes senile and children's flatulence, as well as reflex, which appears when the mesentery contracts.
• Circulatory flatulence .It appears because there are general or local circulatory disturbances( for example, due to stagnation of blood in the veins of the intestine), which lead to a decrease in the absorption of gas from the intestines into the blood and an increase in the flow of gas from the circulatory system into the intestine.
• Psychogenic meteorism .It develops because of mental disorders that affect the activity of the digestive system, for example, with hysteria.

Pregnant women often suffer from flatulence. It is caused by the pressure of the enlarged uterus on the walls of the intestine and the action of the hormone progesterone, which leads to a relaxation of the smooth musculature of the organ and inhibits peristalsis. This leads to impaired movement of stool and a worsening of the absorption function.

Babies often have bloating, since the digestive tract is not yet fully formed, the enzymes are not active enough and the gastric juice is less acidic. The more varied the diet of a child, the faster its enzymatic system will provide a normal process of digestion.

Symptoms such as swelling and cramping in the abdomen can indicate intestinal obstruction, which requires an emergency operation to eliminate. In pathology, the passage of intestinal contents is disturbed due to narrowing of the intestinal lumen as a result of a hemodynamic disorder, innervation, squeezing or spasm.

Symptoms of

With an increased amount of gas, patients complain of a feeling of heaviness and swelling in the abdomen or parts of it, pains of a pulling or aching nature that do not have a clear localization. In some cases, the pain is irradiated in the lower back.

In addition to pain, dyspeptic disorders( eg, belching, constipation or diarrhea, nausea, mouthfeel, lack of appetite) are observed, which may be the result of a primary illness or a gastrointestinal disorder due to gas retention and gut enlargement.

If there is a sudden gas build-up, colic may appear( an attack of severe cramping pain) that occurs after the gases have passed

. In some cases, patients experience frequent and noisy excretion, while in others, gas retention occurs. The swelling can lead to a burning sensation in the region of the heart, rapid heartbeat, sleep problems, mood swings, severe weakness, headache and muscle pain, numbness in the hands and feet. Sometimes patients say that there is a strong shortness of breath, the so-called dyspeptic asthma.

Diagnosis

To understand why the abdomen hurts and a bloating occurs, you need to undergo a medical examination. Flatulence is only a symptom of a certain pathology, so it is necessary to diagnose the underlying disease, which leads to swelling of the abdomen.

Upon examination, the gastroenterologist may note that the abdomen is completely inflated( general flatulence) or that it has swollen partially, only in the right or left side( local flatulence).Whole stomach, if the gases have accumulated in the small intestine, for example, if the small intestine is obstructed, and only a part of the abdomen swells when there is a large volume of gas in the large intestine, which happens with colonic lumen blocking.

When listening to the abdomen, intestinal noises can increase before the narrowing of the lumen or weaken or disappear altogether. If it is felt during the palpation that the cecum is enlarged, it indicates that there is an obstacle in the large intestine, and if it, on the contrary, slept, then it indicates a small intestine ileus.

During an X-ray study, it can be seen that the bowel loop, most often thick, was swollen due to gas. To determine whether the digestion process is normal, a feces analysis is administered. Ultrasound examination of the abdominal cavity shows the condition of the mucosa, whether there is fluid in the abdomen or atypical arrangement of the organs.

Diagnostic criterion is the duration and periodicity of pain. If the gases accumulate after eating, regardless of the products and their quantity and last for two hours, then this may indicate gastric diseases( gastritis, ulcer, swelling).

When duodenal pathology swells strongly stomach after two hours after eating. The severity and pain in the abdomen does not go away with exacerbation of pancreatitis. With lactase deficiency puchit only after dairy products.

If bloating is in the upper abdomen, then this indicates a decrease in motor or secretory function of the stomach, which leads to stagnation of food and the onset of fermentation and decay. With these disorders, the patient is worried about a burp with an unpleasant odor, a bit less often reflux, and also hurts the stomach due to inflammation of the mucosa.

To avoid swelling of the abdomen, it is necessary to monitor the diet

Treatment

Should be treated the underlying disease, provoking bloating and pain. To reduce the amount of gas in the stomach, it is recommended to adhere to a diet that excludes the use of cabbage, legumes, freshly baked bread, and also do not eat foods high in starch( potatoes, sweet potatoes, flour dishes) and easily digestible carbohydrates.

You can not adhere to a diet that restricts the use of proteins, fats or carbohydrates, since they are necessary for the functioning of all body systems. To balance the diet is recommended to seek advice from a dietician. The specialist will choose a diet depending on age and physical activity.

In fermentopathies, for example, with lactase deficiency or celiac disease, it is required to exclude from the menu a product that can not be cleaved due to the absence of the enzyme or its inactivity. This diet should be observed throughout life. Only so the stomach stops pouting.

With swelling and stomach pain, the following groups of drugs can be used:

• adsorbents( Smecta, Polysorb).To withdraw intestinal gases are capable of colloidal substances, for example, magnesium trisilicate, activated charcoal( there is only use when receiving a large amount), white clay, colloidal gels;
• enzymatic( Pancreatin, Mezim, Panzinorm, Festal).They stimulate or replace enzymes;
• defoamers( Zeolate, Dysphatil, Espumizan) reduce the tension of air bubbles, so that they burst or are absorbed into the intestinal mucosa and are eliminated naturally.
• carminative.preparations based on bismuth( De-nol, Vikalin, Vicair) and carminative herbs such as chamomile, dill, yarrow, mint;
• probiotics( Bifidumbacterin, Bifiform, Lineks Lactobacillus).Suppress the activity of putrefactive and gas-forming bacteria colonizing the intestine;
• antispasmodics( No-Shpa, Drotoverin) help to eliminate the pain caused by spasm of the intestinal wall.

The choice of funds will depend on the cause and severity of the swelling. So, if gas formation is increased due to fermentation and putrefaction in the intestine, the means that improve the digestive function( enzyme preparations, hydrochloric acid with pepsin, natural gastric juice) and medications that help restore the intestinal microflora( probiotics and prebiotics) are prescribed.

If the accumulation of gas is triggered by aerophagia( ingestion of air), the patient is recommended to more thoroughly chew food, restrict fluid intake, and appoint tranquilizers and anticholinergics to reduce salivation.

If the swollen abdomen is worried because of the narrowing of the lumen of the bowel, then surgical treatment of

is indicated. Balanced nutrition, physical activity, timely therapy of gastrointestinal diseases, preventive measures in postpartum and postoperative periods( exercise, wearing a bandage, massage, normalization of a chair), also do not abuse laxatives and cleansing the intestines through enemas.

If the symptom is often troubling, then do not self-medicate, as this can lead to complications of the underlying disease and promote its transition to chronic form. Only after the discovery of pathology, the gastroenterologist will tell you what to do in order to eliminate the swelling of the abdomen.