Bloating and discomfort in the upper abdomen

Notice whether the sensation follows meals, improves after passing wind or opening your bowels, or comes with burning, nausea, diarrhoea, or constipation. Eating quickly, fizzy drinks, constipation, and large or fatty meals may increase pressure. Repeated symptoms can occur with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Food Intolerance, Lactose Intolerance, Coeliac Disease, or Helicobacter Pylori Infection; these possibilities cannot be distinguished from symptoms alone.

Keep a brief record of meals, timing, bowel changes, and other symptoms. Try smaller meals, eat slowly, drink water, and take a gentle walk after eating. Avoid foods that repeatedly trigger symptoms without cutting out major food groups for a long period on your own. A clinician or Nutrition Counselling service can help you test patterns safely. Do not start antibiotics or long-term acid medicines without medical advice.

Arrange medical advice if discomfort keeps returning, lasts beyond a short episode, or is accompanied by unintentional weight loss, persistent vomiting, trouble swallowing, ongoing diarrhoea, or black stools. Seek urgent help for severe or rapidly worsening pain, a rigid swollen abdomen, vomiting blood, fainting, chest pressure, or breathing difficulty.

Ask which causes fit the timing of your symptoms, whether testing for Helicobacter Pylori Infection or Coeliac Disease is appropriate, and which foods or medicines should be reviewed before treatment.