Abdominal pain

Causes Mild infections can trigger pain which can persist long after the infection disappears. Prolonged stress may make the bowel hypersensitive, more often it is difficult to identify the cause.

Treatment

First try a regular healthy diet – follow some simple rules:

1. Eat three small meals a day always at the same time – never over-eat.

2. Don’t hurry – eat in relaxed surroundings.

3. Avoid excesses of anything – tea, coffee, coke, fizzy drinks, alcohol, fatty foods

4. Eat a balanced diet, which includes some roughage but not too much.

When you also have bloating you may find it best to reduce the roughage or non-digestible fibre in your diet – fruit, vegetable, wheat fibre in cereals and wholemeal bread – until the problem settles, particularly if you aren’t constipated.

Second try antispasmodic tablets which help the bowel muscle to relax and reduce spasm or colic. A pharmacist could advise on a suitable tablet.

Note See your GP if you don’t get better over 3-4 weeks or get worse so that the pain interferes with your work or sleep and particularly if it is always provoked by eating so that you quickly feel full and have to reduce the amount you eat.