This article will try and explain the major causes of abdominal pain in left side plus get into their treatment and prevention to see you live a healthy life.
Abdominal pains are usually classified with respect to the affected abdominal area. The abdomen is divided into four main areas that is lower and upper right quadrants and lower and upper left quadrants. The pain varies depending on the affected organs.
Organs found in the left abdomen include; the spleen, the stomach, the colon, pancreas, heart, Fallopian tubes in women, ovary in women, and left rib cage.
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| Structure of the Abdomen |
5Major Causes of Left Side Abdominal Pain
Here are five most common causes of left side abdominal pain and a brief description to help you know more about them;
- Gall Stones: These are stone like deposits in the gallbladder that start out small and grow slowly in the gallbladder. They are usually asymptomatic and therefore show no signs when tiny but soon they grow and cause a gallstone attack where there is sharp upper right abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. They are very hard to detect and require to be checked under microscopic eyes to detect. The condition is very painful and requires urgent medical treatment.
- Intestinal Obstruction: This is when parts of the digestive system is blocked thus leading to blockage of foods, fluid or other intestinal contents from passing through. The contents therefore start accumulating in the area and apply pressure to the blocked area. The pain is accompanied by bloating, nausea, vomiting and bad breath. The condition needs quick treatment to remove the contents and allow free flow of foods in the abdomen.
- Ectopic or Tubal pregnancy: This is when the fertilized egg implants itself in the fallopian tubes instead of the womb. The fetus starts growing in the fallopian tube instead of the female womb which is best suited to handle it's weight and growth. The growth presses onto the walls of the fallopian tubes and this leads to intense pain which could lead into the death of both mother and child. The chances of the fetus surviving are in most cases close to nil therefore more effort needs to be directed towards urgently saving the mother.
- Pancreatitis: This is when the pancreatic enzymes are released inside the pancreas instead of the stomach thereby inflaming the pancreas duct. The pain can be mild but could also increase in nature and occurrence. If the condition worsens it leads to indigestion of fat and one can trace fat in the stools they pass. The signs include weakness, nausea, jaundice, abdominal pain and vomiting. One should seek medical treatment to reverse it's effects.
- Bowel Cancer: This occurs when the cells in the large intestine or colon multiply abnormally, the cancerous cells mutate and spread throughout to other parts of the colon which ends up blocking sections of the colon. The blockage leads to bleeding of the rectum or the descending colon. This cancer is more common in people who live sedentary lifestyles, eat high cholesterol foods, red meat and high alcohol intake. One needs to avoid these causes as the illness has very little relation with genetics and therefore not necessarily passed on to the unborn child.
Dealing With Left Side Abdominal Pain
When dealing with abdominal pain it is imperative to know the real cause of the abdominal illness. The best thing is for you to visit your medical doctor and get an accurate diagnosis to establish the source of the pain.
Some of the causes of the pains might require complex medical procedures or even surgery but we all agree that prevention is better than cure.
Some of the causes of the pains might require complex medical procedures or even surgery but we all agree that prevention is better than cure.
I can wish you now is a better and healthy life, Cheers and take care!
