Abdominal pain
Abdominal pain may be a serious condition and should be examined by a doctor.
Do you feel pain in your abdomen? This article will outline several different causes for abdominal pain and general guidelines how to overcome abdominal pain.
Abdominal pain occurs when the intestines are stagnated. This stagnation can be both sudden and acute or long lasting and mild. There are several types of abdominal pain, each of which will be discussed shortly.
Cold induced abdominal pain
External cold may invade the intestines directly. This happens when a person is exposed to cold, especially when the body is wet, such as after swimming. Invasion of cold is also common by excessive consumption of cold foods and especially cold drinks. These two reasons may combine making invasion of cold a common phenomenon during summer time; after a dip in the pool, sitting is the shade, a cool afternoon breeze, licking ice cream.
Woman are more prone to invasion of the intestine by cold during or immediately after the menses, and even more so after childbirth. For this reason woman should avoid swimming during the menses and keep their abdomen covered and warm at these times.
Cold contracts tissue causing sudden abdominal pain and diarrhea, or sometimes constipation. The pain may be intense, aggravated by pressure and alleviated by application of warmth and drinking hot water or tea.
Damp induced abdominal pain
Dampness may also invade the intestines directly causing abdominal pain, a feeling of fullness and heaviness and possibly diarrhea. This is possible in a wet and humid climate or by staying wet for some time. Dampness may combine with cold as described above, or heat.Damp heat in the intestines causes abdominal pain which is worse with pressure and hot food, accompanied by a feeling of heaviness and oppression of the chest, loose stools with a foul smell, mucus and/or blood in the stools, a burning sensation of the anus, thirst, slight sweating and dark urine.
Either cold or heat, clearing damp invasion is possible by a temporary fast, drinking boiled hot water to flush the dampness downwards, and by walking, to facilitate the peristaltic movement of the intestines.
Emotional stress induced abdominal pain
Anger, frustration and resentment which impair the proper function of the Liver, may cause stagnation in the intestines and thus abdominal pain.
Pensiveness and worry which impair the proper function of the Pancreas and Lungs may cause abdominal pain.
This type of abdominal pain is clearly related to the emotional state, accompanied by feeling bloated, irritability, moodiness, belching, intestinal noise, tiredness and alternation of constipation with diarrhea. All the emotions mentioned above are legitimate and acceptable as long as they flow and change harmoniously, as seen in young children. The main issue for resolving this type of pain would be to learn how to release stagnant emotions in a positive manner, using appropriate exercise to release stress and mostly by expressing and sharing feelings, talking with a supportive companion.
Improper diet induced abdominal pain
Eating habits have a profound influence on the intestinal function. Simply eating too much in relation to one’s digestive capacity, leads to retention of food and abdominal pain.Eating before the previous meal has been digested; emotional eating or snacking, night eating, eating irregularly, eating in a hurry and eating during other activities also cause retention of food and pain.
Excessive eating causing retention of food in the intestines and abdominal pain is worse with pressure and after eating, feeling of fullness and heaviness in the abdomen, swelling, nausea, possible vomiting, belching, sour regurgitation, weakness, lack of appetite, phlegm, intestinal noise, cough, diarrhea which relieves the abdominal pain or in some cases constipation.
Excessive consumption of cold and raw foods and ice cold drinks harm the digestive fire and leads to the formation of internal cold.
Excessive consumption of food items with one or more of the following attributes:rich, sticky, gooey, very sweet, thick, heavy, or cold, such as in dairy products, greasy foods, sugar and concentrated sweeteners, oily flour products, thick fatty spreads (tahini spread, almond spread, peanut butter), all nuts when eaten excessively, industrially grown animal protein products, all which lead to the formation of internal phlegm.
Excessive consumption of hot, greasy and spicy foods and alcohol may lead to heat or damp heat in the intestines, which causes abdominal pain.
To clear retention of food, the first step is to stop eating for a while, giving the intestines some extra time to breakdown and move the stagnant food. As before, very beneficial for clearing the intestines is the use of hot boiled water and some light exercise such as walking.
Aromatics are considered an effective remedy for clearing food stagnation. Aromatic herbs and spices, such as cardamom, ginger and caraway stimulate digestion and encourage the movement of food through the digestive tract and clear excess cold and phlegm. Mix a table spoon of the above aromatics, with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and drink while hot.
Deficiency induced abdominal pain
When energy and blood are low, a dull abdominal pain may develop. This pain comes in bouts, accompanied by tiredness, feeling cold, a desire for warm drinks, loose stools, possibly some state of depression and slight breathlessness. The pain improves after rest and with application of warmth and pressure.
In order to resolve the pain, one should keep warm, eat cooked nourishing food, rest shortly during the day and go to sleep early at night, refrain from physical strain and cut down excess activity to reserve energy.
Prevention and precautions
Any person who is prone to abdominal pain should avoid eating an excessive amount of cold energy foods as these would aggravate not only cold in the intestines but also cause stagnation of food, stagnation of Qi and Blood, and Qi deficiency. In particular it is best to avoid cold drinks.
Moderate exercise is essential and will benefit most types of abdominal pain, especially those induced by cold, phlegm and retention of food. Exercise is especially implicated for those sitting most of the day, creating stagnation in the abdomen.
Sleeping after lunch stops the digestive process and may contribute to the formation of stagnant food or phlegm in the intestines therefor should be avoided. Weaker people who are suffering from deficiency induced abdominal pain may benefit from a short nap (less than half an hour).
Western differentiation for Abdominal Pain
For any case of Abdominal Pain please consult your Doctor!
- Pyelonephritis
- Renal calculus
- Appendicitis
- Diverticulitis
- Carcinoma of the colon, rectum or other organs in the lower abdomen
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Ulcerative colitis
- Crohn’s disease