When should you see a doctor about abdominal pain?

Pain can come from the stomach, bowel, urinary system, abdominal wall, or reproductive organs. Its location, onset, movement, and relation to meals or bowel movements help guide assessment. Abdominal pain may occur with conditions such as acid reflux, urinary tract infection, giardiasis, threadworms, ulcerative colitis, Helicobacter pylori infection, or inguinal hernia, but the symptom alone cannot identify its cause.

Rest, sip fluids if you can keep them down, and record where the pain is, when it started, and whether it moves. Note vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, urinary changes, menstrual or pregnancy possibility, fever, and any medicines taken. Avoid alcohol and heavy meals until the cause is clearer. Do not delay assessment by repeatedly taking pain medicine if symptoms are escalating.

Seek urgent help for sudden intense pain, a rigid or markedly swollen abdomen, fainting, confusion, repeated vomiting, vomiting blood, black or bloody stools, or inability to pass urine or stool. Get prompt assessment for pain with pregnancy possibility, yellowing of the skin, high fever, or pain that settles in one area and worsens with movement. Children, older adults, and people with major medical conditions may need earlier advice.

Ask what examinations or tests may clarify the cause, which symptoms should trigger urgent review, and what fluids, foods, or medicines are suitable while you recover.