Pain on my right side after eating

Stomach pain on the right side could be coming from your digestive tract or your stomach, but it may also be related to other organs in this area: your small and large intestine, right kidney, liver or appendix.

Several different conditions can cause discomfort in this part of the body, but understanding the differences between them and which organs they affect, could help you pinpoint the cause.

Digestive problems

Digestive problems such as

Chronic bowel conditions like

If you’re not sure if your bowels or digestive system are causing you pain, ask yourself the following questions:

• does the pain feel crampy or come and go in waves?
• do I feel bloated or sick?
• do I find it hard to poo? (constipation)
• do I have heartburn or acid reflux?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, your pain may be linked to a digestive problem.

Chronic or long-term digestive problems need to be treated by a doctor, but common conditions like gastroenteritis or constipation can be treated at home.

Try to drink plenty of fluids and take painkillers if you need help to manage the pain. If you have constipation or

Note: You should always visit a doctor if the pain won't settle or you’re worried about your symptoms. Also go straight to a doctor if:

• there’s blood in your poo
• you’ve lost a lot of weight without trying to
• your symptoms are getting worse
• you’re struggling to swallow

Kidney conditions

Pain from the kidney tends to be a dull, aching pain, but some kidney conditions can cause intense stabbing pain. You may feel like the pain starts at the back of your abdomen, or that it comes and goes.

Conditions that affect your kidneys include

If you have a kidney infection, you may feel pain along your urinary tract (towards the bottom right corner of your abdomen) and it’s not unusual for kidney pain to get worse when you pee.

If you think your kidneys may be causing the pain, ask yourself the following questions:

• do I have a high temperature (fever)?
• do I feel shivery?
• is there blood in my pee?
• do I have symptoms that are normally associated with a ?

If you answered ‘yes’ to one or more of these questions, see a doctor.

Kidney stones and infections can cause long-term damage to your kidneys, so it’s important to treat them quickly.

Liver conditions

Any condition that causes your liver to become inflamed or swollen can cause dull, aching or stabbing pain towards the right side of your abdomen.

This includes liver infections like hepatitis A or B, liver cancer or an abscess. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic

See a doctor if you think your liver may be causing the pain.

Conditions like hepatitis and alcoholic liver disease can be treated, but it’s important to act fast because they can permanently scar your liver if left untreated.

Appendicitis

The appendix is a small organ located in the bottom-right corner of your abdomen. If your appendix gets inflamed or swollen (

Other symptoms include constipation or diarrhoea, loss of appetite and nausea.

Untreated appendicitis can be life-threatening. You should seek medical help immediately if the pain in your abdomen:

Pain is often a symptom of an underlying health problem and one area of the body that can experience great pain is the lower right abdomen. But when do you need to be concerned about an abdominal pain?

What is in the lower right abdomen?

Before anything else, it is important to review the body’s anatomy. What are the organs located in the abdomen, and what diseases are often seen in these areas?

The abdomen has four quadrants – upper right, lower right, upper left, and the lower left. In addition to these, there are three areas in the middle abdomen, namely, the epigastric, umbilical, and hypogastric area.

In each area, there are specific organs or parts of the gastrointestinal system. For instance, the right upper part of the abdomen is where the liver, gall bladder, right kidney, and pancreas are located. In the left upper quadrant, the stomach, left kidney, and spleen are situated. The lower left quadrant is where the small intestine, colon, ureter, and major veins or arteries to the veins are located. Lastly, the lower right abdominal area is the site of the appendix, ascending colon, and part of the female reproductive organs.

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Right lower abdominal pain

There are many conditions that can cause lower right abdominal pain. But one of the most common causes is appendicitis. Other causes include:

These are differentiated by a careful history, looking for specific signs on physical examination, and diagnostic radiography, ultrasound, and/or CT scanning of the abdomen. Symptoms like fever, migration of pain from near the navel to lower down on the right side, and the presence of rigidity and rebound tenderness of the abdominal wall should alert the physician to the possibility of appendicitis.

This must be confirmed by imaging studies as above. If the CT scan results are normal, the disease is likely to be localized in the female reproductive organs, the colon or the urinary tract, and specific examinations and tests must then be performed.

Pain in the lower right quadrant should be taken seriously if it is severe and accompanied by the following symptoms:

• Fever, chest pain, or a feeling of extreme faintness
• Severe vomiting immediately after eating
• Breathing problems
• Irregular pulse rate
• Dark or blackish stools
• Vomiting blood
• Mild pain persisting after two days
• Pain worsening, or accompanied by unexplained weight loss
• Pain with bloating over more than two days, or diarrhea for more than five days
• Pain with fever or associated urinary problems

It’s important to know about appendicitis as one of the most common causes of right lower quadrant abdominal pain.

What is appendicitis?

People who suffer from lower right abdominal pain may have a condition called appendicitis, or inflammation of the appendix. Appendicitis is a medical emergency and if it’s not treated immediately, it can be life-threatening. An inflamed appendix may burst or rupture, causing perforation and spilling of infective material into the abdominal cavity.

Causes of appendicitis

The appendix can be inflamed due to many causes, and more than one cause may be present in any given case. Some common reasons for inflammation of the appendix include:

• Blockage of the opening in the appendix
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Hypertrophied (overgrown) tissue in the wall of the appendix (usually caused by an infection of the digestive tract)
• Trauma to the abdominal area
• the presence of hard stools, growths or parasites that can block the lumen of the appendix

The cause of appendicitis is unclear in many cases. It is true, nevertheless, that one of the most common causes is the obstruction of the appendix.

Appendicitis may be mild if treatment is initiated promptly. If pus builds up in the appendix due to inflammation, it may burst, flooding the abdominal area or cavity with the infected matter.

This usually happens after 36 hours from the onset of infection in the appendix. It may result in peritonitis (inflammation of the lining of the abdominal cavity) which is a potentially life-threatening complication, demanding prompt medical treatment.

When should you be concerned about right lower abdominal pain?

Appendicitis is a medical emergency. The common symptoms include a dull pain near the umbilical area or navel that becomes sharp, loss of appetite, constipation or diarrhea with gas, inability to pass gas, nausea or vomiting, and fever.

Other symptoms may appear, such as painful urination and a feeling that having a bowel movement will relieve discomfort and pain. Appendicitis can be mistaken for other conditions, such as gassy pains.

However, appendicitis may be suggested if the pain begins near the navel and moves to the right lower quadrant, becomes worse upon moving, walking or sneezing, becomes more intense over a few hours, occurs abruptly and may even wake you up from sleep, if the pain is the first symptom to occur, and if it very severe, often described as a pain worse than you’ve never felt before.

If you feel any of these symptoms, you must seek medical attention immediately.

How is appendicitis treated?

The only treatment for appendicitis is the surgical removal of the inflamed appendix. Pain medications can help relieve pain, but not for long. As long as the appendix is inflamed, the pain will persist. Worse, the appendix can rupture and cause infection in the whole abdominal cavity.

Appendectomy is a procedure involving the removal of the appendix. The procedure can be done through two methods – laparoscopic surgery and laparotomy. In laparoscopic surgery, surgeons use small incisions and specialized tools to remove the appendix. Since it’s less invasive than the traditional surgery, it has fewer complications and a shorter hospital stay.

On the other hand, laparotomy involves the removal of the appendix through a single incision over the abdominal wall in the right lower right quadrant. This is more invasive and may require a longer time for the patient to recover.

Usually, antibiotics are intravenously given to reduce the risk of peritonitis. The typical length of stay is between three and five days. The removal of the appendix has not been shown to have any effect on the digestive system, whether in the short or long term.

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