Stomach Cramps, Diarrhoea and Chills: What to Know

Cramping may come from the bowel contracting more strongly than usual, while diarrhoea means stools are looser or more frequent. Chills can happen with a fever or while the body responds to an infection. A stomach or intestinal infection is one possible explanation, especially if nausea, vomiting or a raised temperature are also present. Food intolerance, contaminated food, medication effects and inflammatory bowel conditions can cause similar digestive symptoms.

These symptoms do not identify one condition by themselves. Chills can also accompany infections outside the gut, including urinary tract infection, kidney infection, influenza, malaria or dengue fever. The pattern, timing, travel history, urinary symptoms, breathing symptoms and examination findings help a clinician decide what is more likely.

Take frequent small sips of water or an oral rehydration drink. If you can eat, choose light foods such as rice, toast, bananas or soup, and avoid alcohol and foods that clearly worsen the cramps. Rest, wash your hands carefully and avoid preparing food for other people while diarrhoea continues. Keep track of the number of loose stools, your temperature, vomiting, urine output and any blood or mucus.

Do not start antibiotics without medical advice; they are not suitable for every cause of diarrhoea. Ask a pharmacist or clinician before taking an anti-diarrhoeal medicine if you have fever, blood in the stool, severe pain, are pregnant, or are treating a child.

Seek urgent care for severe or worsening abdominal pain, confusion, fainting, difficulty breathing, a stiff neck, repeated vomiting, blood or black stool, or signs of dehydration such as very little urine, a dry mouth or marked dizziness. Seek prompt assessment if chills are intense, you feel unusually weak, or symptoms are not easing. Babies, older adults, pregnant people and people with weakened immunity can become dehydrated or seriously unwell more quickly.

Call emergency services if the person is difficult to wake, collapses, has blue or grey lips, or has severe breathing difficulty. A clinician may check hydration, temperature and the abdomen, and may arrange urine or stool testing when the history suggests it.

Ask: What causes fit my symptom pattern? Do I need testing or treatment? How should I replace fluids? Which medicines should I avoid? What changes mean I should seek urgent care? Tell the clinician when symptoms began, what you ate, recent travel, medicines taken, fever readings and whether anyone else became ill.