There are many causes of abdominal bloating, including gas, fluid retention, irritable bowel syndrome, food intolerances, menstrual symptoms, and infection. People can often treat bloating at home, but some causes may need medical attention.
Abdominal swelling, or distention, is more often caused by overeating than by a serious illness. This problem also can be caused by: Air swallowing (a nervous habit) Buildup of fluid in the abdomen (this can be a sign of a serious medical problem)
While it's incredibly common these days due to processed foods and high-stress lifestyles, bloating can indicate deeper health issues like candida, thyroid dysfunction, and hormonal imbalances. Bloating is often paired with an inflammation response in the body.
When should I be concerned about a distended abdomen? Seek medical care if your abdominal distension: Keeps getting worse and doesn't go away. Comes with severe abdominal pain.
See a GP if:
you've tried changing your diet but keep feeling bloated. you have a swelling or lump in your tummy. you have bloating along with being sick, diarrhoea, constipation, weight loss or blood in your poo. you find it difficult to move or do daily activities because you're bloated.
If your bloating is accompanied by abdominal pain, cramps, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, then it might be a serious problem.
Acute gastritis goes away after the acute cause of it does. If you have an infection, in most cases your immune system will clear it out shortly, and then the inflammation will go down. If you briefly overdosed on alcohol or pills, your stomach lining will soon repair itself.
Based on visual observation, the ancients characterised inflammation by five cardinal signs, namely redness (rubor), swelling (tumour), heat (calor; only applicable to the body' extremities), pain (dolor) and loss of function (functio laesa).
Gastritis may occur suddenly (acute gastritis) or appear slowly over time (chronic gastritis). In some cases, gastritis can lead to ulcers and an increased risk of stomach cancer. For most people, however, gastritis isn't serious and improves quickly with treatment.
Acute gastritis usually lasts for a short period of time. In most cases, it resolves spontaneously within a few days or weeks once the inflammation has settled. In other cases, however, acute gastritis can lead to recurrent or long-term inflammation of the gastric mucosa, otherwise known as chronic gastritis.
Bloating and swelling are not the same. Abdominal bloating is a feeling that your abdomen is bigger (such as feeling too full after a meal) while swelling is a measurable increase in size.
Anti-inflammatory foods
consuming fermentable fiber within lentils and other pulses. choosing carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. limiting the intake of saturated fats and aiming for healthier fats such as omega-3 fats within fatty fish, nuts, and seeds.
Eat Potassium-Rich Foods
If you're feeling bloated from excess sodium, “the best tip for quick-ish relief is to drink more water and eat mild foods with potassium, like banana, avocado, and sweet potato,” says Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD. “Both water and potassium help flush excess sodium and fluid out of the body.”
Gastritis can sometimes lead to pain, nausea and vomiting. But it often has no symptoms at all. If left untreated, though, some types of gastritis can lead to ulcers (sores in the stomach lining) or even stomach cancer. People used to think gastritis and ulcers were caused by stress and spicy foods.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term for two conditions (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) that are characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Prolonged inflammation results in damage to the GI tract.
A GI doctor can help identify the triggers that may be causing IBS bloating. Increasing fiber intake and drinking plenty of fluids, managing stress, and increasing intake of probiotics may be helpful in reducing symptoms. Medications such as antispasmodics or antidiarrheals can be used to relieve symptoms.
What counts as persistent bloating? Persistent bloating doesn't necessarily mean that you always feel bloated, in fact your bloating can come and go. Persistent bloating means that you feel bloated regularly, for example more than 12 times a month.
You could have a condition called Diastasis Recti Abdominus, or DRA. DRA is caused by an increase in abdominal pressure and occurs when the rectus abdominus, the abdominal muscle that runs down the center of your stomach, separates.
The most common cause of stomach pain and bloating is excess intestinal gas. If you get a bloated stomach after eating, it may be a digestive issue. It might be as simple as eating too much too fast, or you could have a food intolerance or other condition that causes gas and digestive contents to build up.
A swollen tummy (abdomen)
This might be because: the liver gets bigger from the growing cancer, and causes swelling on the right side of your abdomen. the cancer (or cirrhosis) increases pressure in the liver causing blood to back up in the vessels (veins). This forces fluid out of the veins into the abdomen (ascites)