Abdominal Pain, Age 12 and Older

Many things can affect how your body responds to a symptom and what kind of care you may need. These include:

• Your age. Babies and older adults tend to get sicker quicker.
• Your overall health. If you have a condition such as diabetes, HIV, cancer, or heart disease, you may need to pay closer attention to certain symptoms and seek care sooner.
• Medicines you take. Certain medicines, herbal remedies, and supplements can cause symptoms or make them worse.
• Recent health events, such as surgery or injury. These kinds of events can cause symptoms afterwards or make them more serious.
• Your health habits and lifestyle, such as eating and exercise habits, smoking, alcohol or drug use, sexual history, and travel.

With cramping pain in the belly:

• The pain may hurt a little or a lot.
• The amount of pain may change from minute to minute. Cramps often get better when you pass gas or have a bowel movement.
• The pain may feel like a tightness or pinching in your belly.
• The pain may be in one specific area or be over a larger area. It may move around.

Shock is a life-threatening condition that may quickly occur after a sudden illness or injury.

Symptoms of shock (most of which will be present) include:

• Passing out (losing consciousness).
• Feeling very dizzy or lightheaded, like you may pass out.
• Feeling very weak or having trouble standing.
• Not feeling alert or able to think clearly. You may be confused, restless, fearful, or unable to respond to questions.

If you're not sure if a fever is high, moderate, or mild, think about these issues:

With a high fever:

• You feel very hot.
• It is likely one of the highest fevers you've ever had. High fevers are not that common, especially in adults.

With a moderate fever:

• You feel warm or hot.
• You know you have a fever.

With a mild fever:

• You may feel a little warm.
• You think you might have a fever, but you're not sure.

Temperature varies a little depending on how you measure it. For adults and children age 12 and older, these are the ranges for high, moderate, and mild, according to how you took the temperature.

Oral (by mouth) temperature

• High: 104°F (40°C) and higher
• Moderate: 100.4°F (38°C) to 103.9°F (39.9°C)
• Mild: 100.3°F (37.9°C) and lower

A forehead (temporal) scanner is usually 0.5°F (0.3°C) to 1°F (0.6°C) lower than an oral temperature.

Ear or rectal temperature

• High: 105°F (40.6°C) and higher
• Moderate: 101.4°F (38.6°C) to 104.9°F (40.5°C)
• Mild: 101.3°F (38.5°C) and lower

Armpit (axillary) temperature

• High: 103°F (39.5°C) and higher
• Moderate: 99.4°F (37.4°C) to 102.9°F (39.4°C)
• Mild: 99.3°F (37.3°C) and lower

Certain health conditions and medicines weaken the immune system's ability to fight off infection and illness. Some examples in adults are:

• Diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS.
• Long-term alcohol and drug problems.
• Steroid medicines, which may be used to treat a variety of conditions.
• Chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer.
• Other medicines used to treat autoimmune disease.
• Medicines taken after organ transplant.
• Not having a spleen.

Pain in adults and older children

• Severe pain (8 to 10): The pain is so bad that you can't stand it for more than a few hours, can't sleep, and can't do anything else except focus on the pain.
• Moderate pain (5 to 7): The pain is bad enough to disrupt your normal activities and your sleep, but you can tolerate it for hours or days. Moderate can also mean pain that comes and goes even if it's severe when it's there.
• Mild pain (1 to 4): You notice the pain, but it is not bad enough to disrupt your sleep or activities.

It is easy for your diabetes to become out of control when you are sick. Because of an illness:

• Your blood sugar may be too high or too low.
• You may not be able take your diabetes medicine (if you are vomiting or having trouble keeping food or fluids down).
• You may not know how to adjust the timing or dose of your diabetes medicine.
• You may not be eating enough or drinking enough fluids.

An illness plan for people with diabetes usually covers things like:

• How often to test blood sugar and what the target range is.
• Whether and how to adjust the dose and timing of insulin or other diabetes medicines.
• What to do if you have trouble keeping food or fluids down.
• When to call your doctor.

The plan is designed to help keep your diabetes in control even though you are sick. When you have diabetes, even a minor illness can cause problems.

You can get dehydrated when you lose a lot of fluids because of problems like vomiting or fever.

Symptoms of dehydration can range from mild to severe. For example:

• You may feel tired and edgy (mild dehydration), or you may feel weak, not alert, and not able to think clearly (severe dehydration).
• You may pass less urine than usual (mild dehydration), or you may not be passing urine at all (severe dehydration).

Severe dehydration means:

• Your mouth and eyes may be extremely dry.
• You may pass little or no urine for 12 or more hours.
• You may not feel alert or be able to think clearly.
• You may be too weak or dizzy to stand.
• You may pass out.

Moderate dehydration means:

• You may be a lot more thirsty than usual.
• Your mouth and eyes may be drier than usual.
• You may pass little or no urine for 8 or more hours.
• You may feel dizzy when you stand or sit up.

Mild dehydration means:

• You may be more thirsty than usual.
• You may pass less urine than usual.

Blood in the stool can come from anywhere in the digestive tract, such as the stomach or intestines. Depending on where the blood is coming from and how fast it is moving, it may be bright red, reddish brown, or black like tar.

A little bit of bright red blood on the stool or on the toilet paper is often caused by mild irritation of the rectum. For example, this can happen if you have to strain hard to pass a stool or if you have a hemorrhoid.

Certain medicines and foods can affect the color of stool. Diarrhea medicines (such as Pepto-Bismol) and iron tablets can make the stool black. Eating lots of beets may turn the stool red. Eating foods with black or dark blue food coloring can turn the stool black.

If you take aspirin or some other medicine (called a blood thinner) that prevents blood clots, it can cause some blood in your stools. If you take a blood thinner and have ongoing blood in your stools, call your doctor to discuss your symptoms.

Symptoms of a heart attack may include:

• Chest pain or pressure, or a strange feeling in the chest.
• Sweating.
• Shortness of breath.
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Pain, pressure, or a strange feeling in the back, neck, jaw, or upper belly, or in one or both shoulders or arms.
• Lightheadedness or sudden weakness.
• A fast or irregular heartbeat.

The more of these symptoms you have, the more likely it is that you're having a heart attack. Chest pain or pressure is the most common symptom, but some people, especially women, may not notice it as much as other symptoms. You may not have chest pain at all but instead have shortness of breath, nausea, or a strange feeling in your chest or other areas.

Many prescription and nonprescription medicines can cause belly pain or cramping. A few examples are:

• Aspirin, ibuprofen (such as Advil or Motrin), and naproxen (such as Aleve).
• Antibiotics.
• Antidiarrheals.
• Laxatives.
• Iron supplements.