When your stomach swells and feels hard, the explanation might be as simple as overeating or drinking carbonated drinks, which is easy to remedy. Other causes may be more serious, such as an inflammatory bowel disease. Sometimes the accumulated gas from drinking a soda too quickly can result in a hard stomach.
If your stomach feels hard and swollen for more than a few days, you should visit your doctor or seek medical attention. You should also consult with your doctor if you have other symptoms such as: bloody stools. difficulty breathing.
What causes stomach or abdominal tightness? Common causes include gas, overeating, indigestion, IBS, and pregnancy. Fluid retention can lead to bloating in people with PMS or ascites, which occurs with liver disease and other chronic health issues.
Functional reasons for a distended abdomen tend to involve digestive problems that cause gas and/or digestive contents to accumulate. Causes might include: Gas from functional indigestion, food intolerances or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Constipation causing a build-up of feces and back-up of digestive contents.
A bloated stomach is first and foremost a feeling of tightness, pressure or fullness in your belly. It may or may not be accompanied by a visibly distended (swollen) abdomen. The feeling can range from mildly uncomfortable to intensely painful.
One easy way to tell the difference between bloat and belly fat is to note belly fat does not cause your stomach to expand wildly throughout the course of a day; bloat does. One other way to tell the difference between bloat and belly fat is you can physically grasp belly fat with your hand, you cannot with bloat.
Bloating will usually cause your belly to feel hard and tight, whereas abdominal fat will feel soft.
When your stomach swells and feels hard, the explanation might be as simple as overeating or drinking carbonated drinks, which is easy to remedy. Other causes may be more serious, such as an inflammatory bowel disease. Sometimes the accumulated gas from drinking a soda too quickly can result in a hard stomach.
A Hard Belly (excess visceral abdominal fat) is a telltale sign of a buildup of deep fat that may put your health at risk.
Pressing on your stomach is a way to find out if the size of your internal organs is normal, to check if anything hurts, and to feel if anything unusual is going on. Looking, listening, and feeling are all part of a physical exam.
While a hard, protruding beer belly is caused by the buildup of visceral fat, a soft belly is caused by subcutaneous fat, which is located close to the skin's surface. If you have subcutaneous belly fat, your belly feels jiggly and softer to the touch. Unlike visceral fat, subcutaneous fat can be pinched.
Although a bloated stomach is a common symptom that is not harmless, it can actually be a sign of something serious. A bloated stomach that lasts longer than 2 weeks after taking medications, weight loss, pale skin, loss of appetite and yellowing of the skin can be warning signs of cancer.
Bloating is a feeling that your stomach feels uncomfortably full. Some people describe bloating as a feeling that they have a balloon in their belly. Often times, bloating will go away on its own.
Abdominal bloating occurs when the abdomen fills with air or gas. This may cause the area to appear larger or swollen. The abdomen may also feel hard or tight to the touch. It can cause discomfort and abdominal pain.
That hardness is due to an abundance of fat deep in the abdominal cavity around the internal organs, otherwise known as visceral fat. Men are particularly vulnerable to accumulating excess visceral fat, because genetically men are predisposed to storing excess fat in the midsection.
The most common causes are trapped gas or eating too much in a short time. The sensation of bloating can cause abdominal distention, which is a visible swelling or extension of your belly.
Sometimes, excess fat around the belly is due to hormones. Hormones help regulate many bodily functions, including metabolism, stress, hunger, and sex drive. If a person has a deficiency in certain hormones, it may result in weight gain around the abdomen, which is known as a hormonal belly.
Causes include poor diet, lack of exercise, and short or low-quality sleep. A healthy diet and active lifestyle can help people lose excess belly fat and lower the risk of problems associated with it.
If you eat too much and exercise too little, you're likely to carry excess weight — including belly fat. Also, your muscle mass might diminish slightly with age, while fat increases.
See a GP if:
you've been feeling bloated for 3 weeks or more. you feel bloated regularly (more than 12 times a month) you've tried changing your diet but keep feeling bloated.
You Are Experiencing Specific Symptoms
If your abdominal pain is unexplained, severe, and lasts for more than 30 minutes, you should seek emergency medical care. These additional symptoms also require a trip to the ER: Tenderness in the abdomen. Swelling or bloating.
Bloating, nausea, and tiredness can occur due to a wide range of causes. Temporary explanations can include eating rich or salty meals, eating too much, or short-term stress. Longer-term causes include conditions such as IBS, SIBO, and gastroparesis.
Too much visceral fat can make your belly protrude. If your belly is hard and not squishy, it's likely due to an excess of visceral fat. This can increase your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.