Abdominal Pain After Eating

Jack recently visited a birthday party of one of his colleagues. Being a food lover, Jack couldn't resist the temptation of tasting all the food items. He returned home once the late night party got over, but while coming home he felt some abdominal pain after eating. May be one of the items was not digested properly, or could have reacted with the other particles in his body or whatever! He slept over with the pain and rushed to the doctor in the morning. The doctor explained him everything regarding abdominal pain after eating and also gave him some tips on preventing it. Read on to know the explanation...

Abdominal pain after eating or stomach pain after eating is a very common condition. It is characterized by severe or mild pain in the left and/or right side of the person's abdomen. It mainly happens due to eating foodstuffs, which your body might not be habitual to, food items causing allergies or eating too much (overeating). Abdominal pain after eating doesn't begin immediately. The incubation period of stomach ache after eating varies from a few minutes to hours. It mostly depends upon the type of food you eat and way your body reacts to it. The following is an elaborated discussion on the causes, treatment and prevention of stomach pain after eating.

Causes of Stomach Pain after Eating

It is not just food that is responsible for abdominal pain after eating, but there are many health conditions and diseases that cause it too. Some of them are discussed below.

Microorganisms
The most common reason for abdominal pain and also bloating after eating is the chemical reaction between body fluids and various microorganisms present inside the food. Our body tries to throw out the harmful bacterias in order to avoid infections, which thus leads to vomiting after eating. In a few cases, vomiting is accompanied by nausea after eating. Stomach ache after eating, due to this reason is common in people consuming too much of fast food. Feeling tired after eating is also an outcome of such overeating.

Pancreatitis
Pain felt in the entire abdomen or in the upper abdominal region about 7-12 hours after a meal is caused due to pancreatitis. In some cases, when the pain is acute, it is a result of perforated stomach ulcer, pelvic inflammatory disease, diabetes or food poisoning.

Liquid Substances
Often people tend to consume liquids such as water, soft drinks, fruit juices in large quantities after eating. This actually results in dilution of stomach acids and survival of the harmful fungi and bacteria in the food. As a consequence of this, food is not broken down properly and indigestion occurs. This also leads to diarrhea after eating, as the body doesn't accept the indigested food matter containing harmful bacteria and therefore tries to release it.

Intestinal Obstruction
Intestinal obstruction is a cause of stomach cramps after eating in many people. This is further followed by vomiting, watery stools etc. Diverticulitis is another cause of stomach cramps after eating.

Treatment and Prevention for Stomach Problems after Eating

Often, medications such as antibiotics are used for the treatment of normal stomach pain. However, for stomach pain due to diseases, advanced treatments with a doctor's consultation is necessary. The preventive measures for abdominal pain after eating are:

• Avoiding unhealthy and dubious foodstuffs.
• Eating meals on time.
• Avoiding sleeping immediately after having meals.
• Avoid overeating and excessive consumption of fast foods.
• Consuming liquids in small quantities after eating.

This was all about the explanation given to Jack. I'd sum up the discussion, by saying that proper diet planning with the consultation of a dietitian and taking appropriate medications with a doctor's prescription are the keys to keep away abdominal pain after eating