Just about everybody has tummy trouble throughout their lives. The discomfort could be triggered by indulging in a decadent meal or from eating food that’s a little past its expiration date (OK, maybe a lot past its expiration date).
However, severe abdominal pain is another story, and even though in most cases it’s not indicative of a serious health issue; in some cases it can signal a serious illness. That’s why it’s important to be able to differentiate the symptoms of these nine common culprits of stomach pain…
Food poisoning can cause serious stomach discomfort due to a bacterial or parasitic infection. Food poisoning can be caused by over 250 different food and water borne sicknesses—ranging from Salmonella to e-Coli and from botulism to cholera—resulting in painful abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever, gas, diarrhea, fatigue, and dehydration.
The U.S. Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) estimate that 48 million Americans suffer with food poisoning annually. Another CDC statistic reveals that 128,000 U.S. citizens are hospitalized yearly with food poisoning, and 3,000 suffer death due to a foodborne illness.