The stomach hurts precisely in the middle

Pain above the midline.

This is a classic symptom of a stomach or duodenal ulcer (the initial section of the small intestine, beginning where the stomach ends). Gastric cancer can also cause stomach pain, but it rarely engages the duodenum.

Do you have an ulcer?

Gastric ulcer is erosion, erosion of the stomach mucosa. Most ulcers heal, but then they behave unpredictably. Ulcers are more likely to reappear if you drink, smoke, take caffeine, regularly use aspirin or related pain medications, as well as cortisone. An attack of peptic ulcer, without treatment, usually lasts several weeks and passes as mysteriously as it begins. It reminds of pain in case of severe hunger and it actually happens more often on an empty stomach, when an acid normally present in the stomach can eradicate the sensitive site of the mucosa. Therefore, peptic ulcer wakes you up in the middle of the night, for at this time the stomach is empty.

If you suspect an ulcer, look at your bowel movements (you should do this in any other case). Black stools indicate that the ulcer is bleeding (but not all ulcers bleed). Although ulcers are often observed in stressed, nervous and stressed individuals, people seem at first sight to be relaxed and well-organized in life are also candidates for ulcers. The irritation of the mucosa of the upper intestine with aspirin or alcohol, although it does not give a true ulcer, can also cause an unpleasant sensation at the top of the median line.

Pain below the midline.

This is usually a signal of something happening in the urinary system, the female reproductive organs, the intestine or in the rectum.

In relation to genital organs, the culprit can be endometriosis , in which tissues normally belonging to the uterus are present in various places of the pelvic cavity or intestine. Endometriosis does not endanger life, but it causes pain. Incorrectly placed tissue reacts to hormonal changes in the same way as the uterine mucosa. And with every menses the woman will feel pain, in whatever part of the body either endometriosis occurs.

The pain below the midline, accompanied by temperature and vaginal discharge, indicates an inflammatory process in the pelvis . However, the most common cause of gynecological pain in women in menopause are large fibroids (benign tumors) of the uterus , less often (but it should never be forgotten) - cancer of the uterus and ovary , as well as a long- term irritated bowel .

Arteriosclerosis - in the abdomen?

We usually think about the arteries and the corresponding diseases with reference to the heart, the brain, legs or kidneys. But every organ in the body depends on the normal supply of blood. Intestine is no exception.

The work of the intestine is to push food along its path, digest it and absorb nutrients. To do all this, the intestine needs food, which means blood. When one or more of the main vessels supplying the intestine with blood is narrowed or clogged, in this part an attack of the mesenteric toad occurs (the arteries of the intestine are called mesenteric). Suspect this diagnosis, if you are 60 or more, you have arteriosclerosis in other parts of the body and you feel a sharp, spasm-like pain in the lower abdomen, along with a bloody stool shortly after eating. The only way to confirm the diagnosis is angiography: an x-ray done after dye injection into the stomach vessels (by injection in the groin area).

The main artery of the body is the aorta . She exits from the left ventricle, a large chamber of the heart and, turning, descends into the stomach. On this path large branches to the kidneys, intestines and other organs depart from it. The aorta is especially prone to arteriosclerosis, most often in people with prolonged, untreated high blood pressure. Over time, its walls weaken (from constant stretching with high pressure) and form large plaques containing cholesterol, calcium and other substances. If the process continues without treatment, the vessel swells - and this is called an aneurysm . An aneurysm pulsates - if you put your hand on your stomach, you will feel like the beating of the vessel to the rhythm with your heart. If the vessel continues to bulge, in the end it will leak or burst - and this is an emergency that threatens life. When this happens, the pain is so sharp that the patient falls into shock or dies within a few minutes. However, if it is a slow leak, not a rupture, there may be warning symptoms in the form of aching pain in the middle of the abdomen for several days. But before you panic, having felt the pulsation in your stomach, remember that this is normal for thin people.

Less frightening, but still serious, when the progressively narrowing or clogged abdominal aorta , without an aneurysm or rupture, causes worsening of circulation in the legs, as well as chronic impotence (the penis loses the flow of blood needed for an erection).

Symptom: stomach aches