Pain In The Right Side When To See A Doctor
The reasons for experiencing pain on the right side of your body are many and varied. If right-sided chest pain and abdominal pain persist and natural remedies dont give you relief, you should visit your doctor.
Dr. Jennifer Robinson on WebMD advises that persistent upper body pain can be a sign of a serious health condition and needs professional medical advice.28
You should see a doctor for pain in the right side of your upper body if you have one or more of the following symptoms:
- A sudden crushing pain under your breastbone
- Any type of chest pain that radiates to your left arm, jaw, or back
- Along with the right-side pain, you have nausea, dizziness, or a rapid heartbeat
- You have signs of an infection like a fever or chills
- Your urine is a red or pink color and/or you have pain urinating
- You have swelling in your abdomen
- You pass bloody stools
- Your chest pain doesnt go away
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Kidney Pain Definition And Facts
- The function and purpose of the kidneys are to remove excess fluid and waste products from the body.
- The kidneys are organs that are located in the upper abdominal area against the back muscles on both the left and right side of the body.
- Kidney pain and back pain can be difficult to distinguish, but kidney pain is usually deeper and higher in the and back located under the ribs while the muscle pain with common back injury tends to be lower in the back.
- Common causes of kidney pain are mainly urinary tract infections, kidney infections, and kidney stones. However, there are many other causes of kidney pain, including penetrating and blunt trauma that can result in a “lacerated kidney.”
- If a woman is pregnant and has kidney pain, she should contact her doctor.
- Symptoms of kidney pain may include
- vomiting.
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Other back pain causes include lumbago and cauda equina syndrome. Your physician will ask about your symptoms, examine your back, and conduct an examination. The diagnosis will be based on the severity of your pain, but your symptoms should subside within two months. If the pain persists, you should consult a doctor to make sure it isnt something more serious. The best treatment for back pain is to rest and avoid physical activity.
If your back pain persists after a few weeks, you should consider a more serious diagnosis. There are many different types of back pain. Some people have a spinal disorder, which is more severe than others. Its important to get proper diagnosis and treatment for back pain. You should also make a lifestyle change that promotes your health and keeps you from experiencing pain. You can also see a physical therapist if you have a specific type of injury or if your back problems are recurring.
In addition to exercising, you should do light physical activities. Gentle exercise can help alleviate back pain. Yoga and pilates are both excellent exercises. The best exercises for backache are those that increase muscle tone and flexibility. You can also try over-the-counter pain relievers or heat to reduce the pain. If youre experiencing severe pain, your doctor may recommend a stronger medication to ease your symptoms. If the pain persists, you should consult with a medical professional and make an appointment with a physician.
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Causes Of Kidney Pain
Kidney pain has many possible causes. These organs are connected to others like your bladder and ureters, where you store and get rid of urine.
Kidney stones. Intense, sudden, stabbing pain may be a kidney stone. These are mineral deposits that can grow large enough to block a ureter, a tube that connects your kidney and bladder. If that happens, you’ll feel sharp pain or cramps in your back or side. It can also spread out to your groin. As you try to pee out the stone, you might feel waves of pain.
Kidney infection. Also called pyelonephritis, this infection could cause discomfort in one or both kidneys. You may feel pain in your back, in your side or both sides under your ribs, or in your groin. You’ll also have a fever. Urinary tract infections also cause discomfort in this organ.
Kidney swelling. This condition, called hydronephrosis, can happen if your kidneys are blocked. Your urine can’t drain the way it should and builds up in your kidneys. This can happen in one or both kidneys and sometimes it causes pain.
Kidney cysts. You may not feel a simple kidney cyst until it grows larger. Once it gets big, you might feel a dull pain in your side or back, or feel pain in the upper part of your belly.
Polycystic kidney disease. This genetic disease causes many cysts to grow in your kidneys. They may cause you to feel a pain in your back or side.
Lower Right Back Pain From Internal Organs
There are numerous possible sources of lower right back pain in the organs of the mid-back, abdominal, or pelvic regions. Pain may start following inflammation or irritation of an internal organ, or may be a sign of infection. These conditions will usually produce other symptoms with lower right back pain that more specifically narrow down the source.
Several common internal causes of lower right back pain include:
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Organs On The Right Side Of The Body
The right side of the body includes several organs as below:
1. Lungs
The lung is a significant portion of the human organ, located at the right and left sides. With the duty of transferring oxygen in and pushing the carbon dioxide out, this is one of the essential organs of the human body. While some portion of it is located on the right side of the body, the rest is left. Lung infections can cause sharp stabbing pains that may radiate to your back.
2. Right Kidney
Like the lungs, kidneys are located both on the left and the right side of the human body. The primary function of this organ is to push out all the toxins of the human body through urine.
3. Part of Liver and gallbladder
Under the ribcage on the right side of your body, a large meaty organ called the liver has the primary function of filtering all the blood from the digestive tract. Before this blood moves to the rest of the body, it is purified in the liver. The gallbladder lies under the liver that can also cause sharp pain below your ribcage.
4. Pancreas
The pancreas is located on the right side of the abdomen of a human body. The function of the pancreas is to convert all the food eaten by the human into the fuel that would charge the human body. Thus, it aids in the digestion of the food and provides the required level of sugar to the body.
5. Large intestine
6. Appendix
7. Right fallopian tube and ovary
Other Important Organs in the Right Side:
- Gall bladder
Kidney Pain Vs Back Pain
It’s easy to confuse kidney pain for just back pain. How do you know the difference?
Location. It could be your kidney and not your back if you feel it higher on your back. Back problems usually affect your lower back.
Kidney pain is felt higher and deeper in your body than back pain. You may feel it in the upper half of your back, not the lower part. Unlike back discomfort, it’s felt on one or both sides, usually under your rib cage.
It’s often constant. It probably won’t go away when you shift your body. With your back, it might lessen when you adjust your position.
Signs that it’s your back
Back pain:
- Shoots down one leg
- Is more likely to be stabbing than dull and constant
- Gets worse or flares up when you do certain activities, like lifting a box or bending over
- When you rest or lie down, back pain may ease up
- Might also be muscle aches
Other symptoms to watch for
Depending on the cause of the pain, you could have other symptoms too. If you have these signs, contact your doctor. You could have a serious kidney problem:
- Fever
- Body aches
- Tiredness
Also, if you recently had a urinary tract infection , call your doctor. If you have blood in your urine, or if your pain is sudden and unbearable even without signs of blood in your pee, get medical care right away.
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Coronavirus Kidney Damage: A Serious Sign
Organ systems like the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys rely on and support one another’s functions, so when the new coronavirus causes damage in one area, others might be at risk. The kidneys essential functions have an impact on the heart, lungs and other systems. That may be why doctors note that kidney damage arising in patients with COVID-19 is a possible warning sign of a serious, even fatal course of the disease.
Causes Of Pain On Your Right Side
08 February, 2021
Pain on your right side can occur for different reasons. Although some may not be serious, others may require immediate medical attention. Thus, its important to visit a doctor for an examination to rule out any serious problems.
Its important to remember that there are vital organs involved in digestion and urinary function in this area of the body. Therefore, you shouldnt rule out that the pain may be related to an alteration in these organs. In any case, if it occurs, youll have to be alert to other symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, or severe and prolonged pain.
If so, you should seek professional help as soon as possible. You should definitely avoid self-medicating or trying therapies that arent endorsed by your doctor. Doing so could worsen the problem. What are the most common causes of this medical condition?
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Right Side Abdominal Pain: Common Causes And Other Symptoms
For example, pain on the right of your abdomen caused by gas or indigestion can cause, sharp nagging aches. However, sometimes, dull aches that become more intense, or sharp cramping pains in the right side of your belly that dont go away could be a sign of a more serious condition.
Reproductive organs like the right ovary and part of the uterus are located in the lower right abdomen of women. Cramping pain connected with the menstrual cycle can be felt on just the right side of the lower abdomen if the right ovary is ovulating or if there are cysts.
Even though aches and pains in the right abdomen are usually harmless, there are times when you shouldnt ignore the constant discomfort. Cramping pain along with other symptoms can be a cause for worry.
Symptoms accompanying right side pains in your abdomen that need medical attention are:
- Abdominal pain that causes nausea and vomiting
- Dull aching pain that starts near your belly button and spreads to the lower right belly
- Any kind of severe pain in the right abdomen that doesnt go away
- Passing bloody stools
In this article, I am going to examine the different reasons why pain can occur in the upper right abdominal area or in the lower right abdomen. You will also find out about causes of right-sided abdominal pain that only affect men or women.
Internal organs in the abdomen
What Kidney Stone Pain Feels Like And Where Youll Feel It
Not all kidney stone pain is the same. For example, the location of pain can change as the stone moves from the kidney to the bladder, says Lieske. When a stone is moving into the ureter, people may feel pain in their flank, or side, or their back, he says.
Notably, if the stone is stuck where the kidney connects to the ureter, the pain can be severe, says Ralph V. Clayman, MD, a professor in the department of urology at the University of California in Irvine. On a scale of 1 to 10, pain can be a 10, he says. There is no position in which the person is comfortable.
This type of pain has a tendency to come and go in 10- to 30-minute cycles. It can also radiate to the groin area and the front of the thigh, he adds.
Once the stone has moved down to the part of the ureter closer to the bladder, a person tends to have pain in the abdomen or groin, says Lieske. Men sometimes feel pain at the tip of their penis.
As the stone moves down the ureter, it can also mimic the pain of other conditions, says Clayman. For example, if the kidney stone is on the right side of the body, it may feel like appendicitis, or inflammation of the appendix. If the stone is on the left side, people may mistake the pain for diverticulitis, inflammation, or an infection within the small or large intestine, he says.
Fortunately, from this point, the stone can usually pass from the bladder out the urethra, which is typically twice the diameter of the ureter, says Clayman.
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What Is The Function Of The Kidneys
The excess waste products and excess fluid are removed when the kidneys produce urine that is excreted from the body. Moreover, the kidneys play an important role in the regulation of the body’s salt, potassium, and acid content.
The kidneys also produce hormones that stimulate the production of red blood cells that help regulate blood pressure and help control calcium and electrolyte metabolism in the body.
What Causes Hydronephrosis
Hydronephrosis diagnosed in pregnancy is usually mild. It’s thought to be caused by an increase in the amount of urine your baby produces in the later stages of pregnancy.
In more severe cases, it may be caused by a blockage in the flow of urine from the kidneys to the bladder, backflow of urine from the bladder to the kidneys, or a blockage in the flow of urine out of the bladder.
In adults, hydronephrosis is commonly caused by:
Read more about the causes of hydronephrosis.
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What Causes Kidney Pain
Kidneys drain urine to the bladder via tubes called ureters. Your bladder is emptied via the urethra. Problems in any of these areas can cause pain, and may be caused by:
- an ultrasound
If you have had kidney stones in the past, it may not always be necessary to have a computed tomography scan, which exposes you to radiation. Ask your doctor if a CT scan is necessary for you. For further information, visit the Choosing Wisely Australia website.
What Makes Some Kidney Stones More Painful Than Others
Kidney stones can range from the size of a grain of sand to as big as a pea. Some are even as large as a Ping Pong ball.
Larger stones are less likely to pass and more likely to block the urinary tract, so they are generally more painful, says Lesser.
The size of the stone is not necessarily proportional to the degree of pain, adds Dr. Maniam. Its possible for a large stone to remain in the kidney, not causing an obstruction or pain, and its possible for a small stone to pass without causing pain if it doesnt create a blockage.
On the other hand, a person may have a small stone in the urinary tract that causes considerable pain because the ureter itself is so tiny, even a small stone can cause obstruction that creates an incredible amount of pain, Lesser notes.
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Should I Keep Taking My High Blood Pressure Medication
Hypertension is a common cause of kidney problems. Hypertension damages the blood vessels of the kidneys and affects their ability to filter the blood. Kidneys also help to regulate blood pressure, so kidney damage can make hypertension worse. Over time, hypertension can cause kidney failure.
If you are living with hypertension, you might take medication for the problem. You may be reading news reports questioning the safety of taking certain prescription medicines to manage their condition: ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers .
Sperati says that patients should stay on their medications and discuss concerns with their doctors.
Right now there are two sides debating this issue. One side is saying, based on animal studies, that these medications might be harmful, increasing risk of infection. The other says these same drugs might protect against lung damage and other problems associated with COVID-19.
But all of the professional societies have published articles recommending that you not change your medications, he says. Staying the course with your prescriptions, he adds, can lower the risk of heart and kidney damage from unchecked high blood pressure.
Sperati does recommend that patients with kidney issues stay away from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , such as ibuprofen and naproxen. These can raise blood pressure and increase fluid volume in the body, which puts strain on the kidneys.
Pelvic Conditions In Women
Some Conditions in a womans pelvic area that can cause lower-right abdominal pain include ectopic pregnancy, ovarian cyst, and infection.
An ectopic pregnancy is a fertilized egg attached outside the uterus, typically within one of the fallopian tubes. Ectopic pregnancy pain may be acute and sharp.
Other symptoms may include vaginal bleeding and changes in bowel habits. Pain from an ovarian cyst may come and go and be dull and radiate to the back. Other symptoms may include abnormal and painful periods. A pelvic infection may cause fever, vaginal discharge, or bleeding.
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