Relatively many people regularly suffer from abdominal pain, and abdominal pain can mean various things. In the intestines alone, more than 60% of women (the percentage is slightly lower among men) occasionally experience problems. Then we are not talking about all kinds of other problems in the abdomen.

What is normal?

It is sometimes said that you should be alert when your stomach does not feel normal, but for many men or women this normal feeling is not something they can immediately indicate. Some people have problems with their stomach from a young age, which does not mean that it is serious. But a normal abdomen feels smooth even when you press on it. No ongoing major or minor aches, periodic stabbing pains, flatulence or significantly abnormal stools.

Diseases

IBS

What more and more people are reporting is irritable bowel, because more than 20% of people in the Netherlands have IBS, the Irritable Bowel Syndrome. By the way, the vast majority of this 20% is female. It is a chronic intestinal disorder in which the motility of the intestines is disturbed to a greater or lesser extent. With peristaltic movements, the intestines ensure that the food is processed, kneaded and transported. If this happens too quickly or too slowly, you have IBS. It can cause significant abdominal pain and you often feel swollen. Your stool may show up in the form of diarrhea or lead to constipation. IBS cannot be cured, but with enough fluids, eating plenty of fiber and sufficient exercise it can be kept under control for most people.

Parasites

Parasites can also cause considerable pain and can be contracted from certain foods. No matter how hard you try and watch what you eat during your holiday, it can happen to anyone. You can detect parasites by having your stool tested. Most parasites can be resolved with a course of treatment. What usually plays a role is that you have to let your intestines do their thing and that sometimes causes some flatulence. Holding in farts results in a swollen stomach, so that is not an option either.

Stress

Sometimes it’s not so much physical as mental and stress can make your stomach ache. The pain is actually caused by the tension that stress places on your abdomen and your organs. Where stress can be subdivided into something that is demonstrable. For example, an overly full agenda for a long time, but it can also be underlying (doomsday) thoughts about difficulty making ends meet, a job that is not available, health problems of family members or other uncertainties for the future. The remedy for the demonstrable is simpler than the unproven. After all, the agenda can be crossed out, but the underlying feeling of uncertainty is more difficult to get rid of.For both, applying relaxation exercises consistently can help. For example, yoga has some specific relaxation exercises and sometimes meditation can also calm you down. Medication can help for a while, but it is a form of symptomatic treatment and ultimately does not solve anything.

Flatulence

It is often downplayed, but flatulence can lead to significant abdominal pain. Especially by holding back, which is what most people do for their own sake, the abdomen can swell and give a painful feeling. Flatulence is actually very normal, because about 15 farts a day is very normal. The gases are formed by the digestion of food and can only leave the body through the intestines. Apart from what we hear, the most embarrassing thing is the smell that some farts produce. Fermentation and proteins from meat, eggs, cheese, etc. produce the farts that give off an unpleasant odor. What can help is not to end your meal with fruit and make sure your diet is healthy and varied.

True or False?!

Over the years, issues also arise when it comes to the intestines – which can sometimes take on a life of their own. To distinguish these from facts, a number are listed below:

• Cola is good for diarrhea. Nonsense, because the stimuli in cola actually stimulate the stomach and intestines.
• If you eat normally, you have to poop every day. Nonsense, every person has a different pattern. What is important is that you have a certain degree of regularity when eating normally, your stool comes out without straining and you have no pain. This can also be once every two or three days.
• Exercise is good for stomach ache. That’s right, because by walking you get your whole body moving, including your intestines.
• Farts are short and sweet. Nonsense, there’s someone who farted for almost three minutes.
• Turds must sink. That’s right, a turd that floats can indicate a diet that is too fatty.
• Too many bacteria in the intestines is not good. Nonsense, because every person has about 100,000 billion bacteria in their body and you also need them for your health.
• Bananas are good against diarrhea. That’s right, the fibers help give the stool the right flexibility and therefore also helps if you suffer from constipation.
• Probiotics are just commercial nonsense. Nonsense, probiotics can help to normalize an imbalance in bacteria. Research is still being conducted to determine the extent to which they stimulate.

Intuition

If you are not a hypochondriac or doom thinker by nature, but you have the feeling that something is not right, go to the doctor. So give your intuition enough space and don’t push it away. You can also just look at it, but if nothing else changes, it is always a good idea to consult your doctor. Apart from the abdominal pain, you may also think of unexplained weight loss, persistent fatigue or blood and/or mucus in the stool.Sometimes a visit to the doctor can also take away some of the stress, so don’t immediately assume something serious. But even in that case, timeliness can save lives.