Lower Left Abdominal Pain, Essay Example

Abdominal pains on the left side are more common in women and adults who are young. Left sided abdominal pains may be caused by legion and runs, gamut that comes from the diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and infections of the kidneys, kidney stones and constipation.  Also, pain that arise from muscles and skin on the abdomen’s left side can be another cause.

Bowel Cancer

The left sided abdominal pains can also be caused by cancer which could be affecting it. People may experience symptoms like losing weight, having trouble passing stool and general weakness. These might be witnessed in months preceding the onset of the disease. Furthermore, some conditions may exhibit the same symptoms as well. Those include irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation, and celiac disease. These diseases are among the other major causes of lower abdominal pain. Others may include constipation, bloating. It is recommended that a person consult a doctor the moment they start feeling unwell.

Abdominal pains can also be caused by obstruction of the bowel, especially if allocated on the left side of the abdomen.  Bowel obstruction could be witnessed through various symptoms including abdominal pains, cramping, feeling nauseous to the point of wanting to vomit.  There are also loud noises that may come out of the bowel sporadically. These noises are referred to as borborygmy. If there is a total obstruction, then a person will experience a lot of difficulties in passing stool and wind. However, one can still be able to pass wind as long as the obstruction is partial. Also, they can pass small amounts of stool on occasional cases.

Constipation

Abdominal pains can also occur as a result of chronic constipation.  Sometimes, the onset or just ordinary constipation can also cause this complication.  If the left side of the bowel is more affected, then the end result is that the lower left abdomen will start experiencing pain. The pain will manifest itself in a person being unable to pass stool like normal, feeling bloated. This is especially if the constipation is a straight one. One of the inflammatory bowel diseases is the Crohns DiseaseCrohn’s disease.  This disease has a problem in that it has a tendency to mimic many other causes of abdominal pain. However, this disease is usually chronic in nature as compared to the others.  Lower left abdominal pain is more likely to occur if the disease affects the descending or sigmoid colon.

Diverticulitis

Another common cause of lower abdominal pain is diverticulitis. This is especially common in people who are above 60 years of age. This disease might in rare instances also affect the left side of the abdomen.  The disease comes up as a result of bowel’s well out pouching in the form of outgrowing fingers outside the walls and it mainly affects the sigmoid colon leading to a nagging feeling in the lower abdomen. Almost 100% of such cases occur on the left side of the abdomen.

Ectopic Pregnancy

Ectopic pregnancy is another cause, especially when it comes to women who have reached the child bearing age bracket of 11 to 55 years.  Lower right or left sided abdominal pains could be a sign of an ectopic pregnancy. This particular type of pain is usually dull and sharp and is mostly associated with bleeding of the vagina.  Most women who experience this may not be aware that they are pregnant since this in most cases occurs within the first weeks of pregnancy. The woman might feel some dizziness, pain on the shoulder tip and weaknesses.

Kidney Stone

Kidney stones are the most common causes in both men and women.  Lower left abdominal can occur if the stones travel down the ureter. The pain might manifest itself as a sudden onset of pain that is very severe and usually occurs in the early morning, or even at any time of the day and is often very severe and comes in waves, spreading down the lower abdomen to the thighs. The pain causes a lot of cramping and leaves the victim rolling or pacing around in discomfort.  Victims may also feel the urge to vomit.

Kidney Infection or Pyelonephritis

When the kidney on the left side is infected, it can cause lower abdominal pain as well.  Victims might show symptoms like fever, vomiting and pain which is felt on the upper to the lower abdomen and in the worst case on the lower back.  The urine release rate is increased, being accompanied with the burning feeling.  However, the pain felt is distinct from that arising from kidney stones and in most cases; it does not start immediately but might be going on for several days.

Ovarian Cyst (Twist or Rupture)

When an ovarian cyst raptures, the pain is usually sudden. This pain in most cases end up spreading to the side of the womb where the ovary is located. The pain can also spread to the thighs and is either moderate or severe. This pain can be differentiated from appendicitis because it is usually very sudden and does show any signs like fever or change in appetite. An ultrasound scan is the diagnosis for the rupture.