Causes and Relief Tips for Lower Right Abdominal Pain
The human abdomen is divided into four quadrants for easy identification of areas by medical practitioners. The left lower abdomen is the quadrants located below your chest and right above your pelvis. This area houses some of your major organs like the liver, right colon, right ovary, and the appendix. Lower right abdomen pain may sometimes be caused by underlying severe conditions. However, some of these right abdominal pains might disappear by themselves with no trace of the cause.
Causes of Lower Right Abdominal Pain
The best way to treat lower right abdomen pain starts by knowing the pain cause. That is why a doctor's diagnosis is vital. Below are some of the major common causes of this pain.
1. Common causes
Appendicitis is a condition whereby the appendix gets inflamed. An appendix is an organ along your digestive tract located at the point where your colon meets your small intestine. When this organ gets inflamed due to infection, a kind of pain does results which radiate to the lower abdomen and requires immediate doctor's attention. Depending on the appendicitis severity, your doctor can prescribe some medications or advise you to go for appendix removal (appendectomy) to avoid more complication like the appendix rupturing within your body.
- Kidney infection
A human being has two kidneys with one on the right and the other on the left, and both of them are susceptible to the kidney infection. This infection is caused by bacteria that can emanate and travel through the urethra, bladder or ureter. Such bacteria can alter the kidney functioning thus causing pain which is felt in the lower abdomen. Other symptoms of this infection are fever, vomiting, nausea, frequent urination, and chills.
- Kidney stones
A kidney is an organ tasked with getting rid of unwanted mineral salts (blood cleaning). This cleaning happens nonstop, and if you do not drink enough water to aid in the mineral elimination process through your urine, those mineral salts might harden up to form kidney stones. As the stones build up, you might not feel the pain but once they are developed and begin moving, you start to feel some lower right abdomen pain. Other symptoms of kidney stones are brown/ pink/red urine, painful urination, frequent urination, nausea, vomiting, smelly urine, and fever.
- A hernia
A hernia happens when an internal body organ exacts pressure and pushes itself through a weak tissue or a muscle. This condition sometimes might be harmless, but depending on the organ doing the pushing and the part being pushed, lower abdominal pains might erupt and with different intensity. Other symptoms of a hernia are: skin bulging or swelling, dull ache, and constipation feeling.
- Irritable bowel syndrome
Very little is known regarding Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) causes, although there is speculation. IBS is a chronic condition that affects the normalcy of the colon and result in the intense right or left abdominal pains, constipation, bloating, drastic bowel movements, and mucosal stools.
- Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)
Be careful not to confuse inflammatory bowel diseases with IBS. Inflammatory bowel disease is a combination of different diseases that affect the digestive system to debilitate the system, change the normal working ability of bowel, and increase chances of colorectal cancer. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are the main causes of IBD which results in chronic bowel inflammation, lower right and left abdomen pain, diarrhea, weight loss, fever and fatigue.
2. Gender-specific causes
Depending on gender bases, lower right abdominal pain can be specific.
- Causes affecting females only
Several right abdominal pain issues affect women only. Some of them are cysts, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian torsion, and ectopic pregnancy. All these kinds of body ailments and conditions have one thing in common, and that is they cause pain which affects the lower right abdominal side.
- Causes affecting males only
Just the same as exclusive right abdominal pains for women, there are those that only affect men. One of the most common abdominal pains causes in men is an inguinal hernia. This happens when fatty tissue or organs pushes itself into delicate abdomen tissue. The other one is the testicular torsion which occurs when a testicle turns or twists the spermatic cord. These two conditions cause severe pain around a man's right lower abdomen.
Tips to Relieve Lower Right Abdominal Pain
Pain in the lower right abdomen can be a real nuisance which can even alter your daily productivity. The following tips can help you relieve the pain which accompanies lower right abdominal pains. However, you must visit a doctor for a more definitive diagnosis and treatment.
There are some kinds of right side abdominal pains that do not need a doctor's attention or any home remedy. They are temporary, and if you rest, they will disappear by themselves or your body immune system, which works best at rest, will deal with them.
2. Keep hydrated
Some causes of abdominal pain symptoms will make you dehydrated. If you realize that this is happening, you need to keep your body as hydrated as possible to maintain your healing process and health in general.
3. Avoid large meals
The point here is keeping it simple for ample healing process. Eating too much can cause pain especially when your stomach needs less pressure.
4. Take OTC pain relievers
If the pain gets too severe, get some OTC painkillers as you monitor the condition. But if the condition worsens, do not wait too long. Use your good judgment to decide when is the time to see a doctor for further diagnosis and treatment advice.
Never ignore any abdominal pain, be it be right or left. You can decide to wait and see whether the pain will disappear alone, but be vigilant. When that pain persists make sure you see a doctor in time. Lastly, the kind of medication you are to use should be well prescribed. Some can elevate gastric irritation or abdominal pain in general.