Upper Abdominal Pain

Sharp or acute pain, vomiting, and diarrhea sometimes indicate food poisoning. Medication should not be taken unless prescribed by a doctor.

Recurring pain and mild or severe discomfort in the upper abdomen, accompanied by nausea, indigestion, and intolerance to fatty food, may mean that stones have formed in the gallbladder. Gallstones are formed when certain chemicals, found in bile, begin to harden and settle in the gallbladder. If one of these stones enters a gallbladder duct, severe cramping or colic may be felt as it passes through the passage.

Sharp pain anywhere in the abdomen may be caused by poisoning, an overdose of strong drugs, or deficiency disorders, such as pernicious anemia or sprue. Certain infectious diseases, such as pneumonia or infectious mononucleosis, may include among their symptoms severe abdominal pain.

Pain accompanied by jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and eyes, may follow the complications of either a gallbladder or a liver disorder. The pain itself may be mild or even absent. When pressure applied to the right upper sector of the abdomen cause pain, the condition may be hepatitis or another liver ailment.

An ulcer, an open sore anywhere in the upper abdomen, may cause a burning pain. The sore may be on the lining of the stomach itself or in the connecting duodenum, the first portion of the small intestine. Someone with an ulcer may feel pain two or three hours after a meal, or he may be awakened in the middle of the night. He may vomit, and blood may appear in his vomit or feces. If the ulcer perforates through the wall of the organ, usually without warning, agonizing pain occurs in the upper abdomen. Such a situation is serious and requires immediate medical attention.

Pain in the upper abdomen may be caused by pleurisy, an inflammation of the membrane that covers the lungs and surfaces of the chest cavity. This becomes worse when the sufferer coughs or breathes deeply. The pain of pleurisy is one of many pains that can occur in the abdomen although the cause lies elsewhere in the body.