Gastrointestinal Symptoms
Gastrointestinal Symptoms Explained
Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are common and affect almost everyone at some point. They can range from inconvenient to downright painful. It’s important to recognize the various types of gastrointestinal symptoms so you can seek out proper medical care when necessary.
Types of Gastrointestinal Symptoms
GI symptoms can be broken down into several categories:
- Heartburn & Indigestion: These include burning sensations in the stomach or chest, nausea, abdominal or belly pain.
- Constipation: These symptoms include infrequent bowel movements, hard or dry stools, and difficulty passing stools.
- Diarrhea: These symptoms include frequent loose stools, urgency to pass stools, and abdominal cramping or pain.
- Vomiting: These symptoms include involuntary oral expelling of stomach content, nausea, and abdominal pain.
- GI Bleeding: These symptoms include vomiting or passing black-coloured stools (indicating the presence of digested blood) and abdominal pain.
What Causes Gastrointestinal Symptoms
GI symptom causes range from dietary choices to serious medical conditions. Some of the potential causes include:
- Certain foods and medications
- Infections
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
- Celiac Disease
- Cancer
- Gallstones
- Gallbladder disease
When to Seek Medical Attention
If you experience any of the aforementioned symptoms, it is a good idea to contact your healthcare provider for advice. If you have any of the following signs or symptoms, you should seek medical care right away:
- Severe abdominal pain
- Rectal bleeding
- Vomiting blood
- Blood in the stool
- Persistently dark urine
- Discoloured stools or pale stools
- Severe or persistent nausea and vomiting
- Persistent diarrhoea with fever
- Unexplained weight loss
- Inability to eat or keep down fluids
Conclusion
If you experience any of these symptoms, be sure to seek medical attention. While many of these symptoms can be caused by dietary choices, it is important to be aware of when more serious issues are present. Recognizing the types of gastrointestinal symptoms and when to seek medical attention can ensure that you get the proper treatment so you can feel better.