Belly Button Pain

Experiencing sudden and intense belly button pain requires urgent and immediate medical attention as it is a clear indicator of appendicitis. The belly button or the navel is located at the center of the tummy, and it is an area that does not generally experience discomfort and pain.

Appendicitis is a serious condition that indicates the inflammation of the appendix, and it requires removal of the appendix by surgery. Delay of the surgery adds up to the amount and the intensity of the pain, and therefore it must not be ignored at any cost.

Many athletes and other people who exercise a lot often brush away pain around belly button as a muscle strain due to the exercising, but this is a mistake that should be avoided. The pain could signify something far more serious than just a muscle pull, especially if it happens often. There have been many cases where pain in belly button has also been an indicator of food poisoning.

This can be a frightening experience for many people as it is fairly difficult to ascertain the exact cause of the pain without any professional medical investigation and diagnosis. For people who wake up at night due to this pain, it can be a very painful and perplexing ordeal. Simply ignoring the pain is not going to solve the problem, and it's not going to make the pain go away. So timely diagnosis is crucial.

Apart from appendicitis, another common cause is cystitis, which is a urinary tract infection. Now this is not a very serious problem, but if it is not discovered soon the infection can spread to the kidneys. Once the infection spreads to the kidneys it requires many surgeries and weeks to recover from it. Women are more prone to be affected by cystitis than men are.

Another very probable reason of pain around the belly button is simply overeating. This is understandable as the holiday season approaches, and even at other times of the year many people often tend to overeat at an alarming regularity for no rhyme or reason.

Eating too much food, or eating something that doesn't quite go well in the stomach can lead to belly pain. Gas problems and acidity are also some of the possible culprits, and all these causes can be treated with relative ease.

Hernias are another commonly seen cause of pain near belly button. Lifting heavy objects usually lead to a hernia, where the afflicted individual experiences pain from the belly button to the groin. Other possible reasons are gallbladder disease, pancreas problems, or small intestine disorders.

Sometimes the pain is so severe that it causes other symptoms like fever, headaches and nausea to break out. Some other possible causes are ulcers and internal bleeding. Women who are pregnant are also prone to belly pain, but should be checked to rule out complications.

You need to remember that intense pain does not always mean that there is something seriously wrong, and mild pain does not often mean that there is nothing wrong.

Strange as it sounds, sometimes sneezing too hard can also lead to belly pain, though this usually diminishes fairly quickly. Other unlikely causes include surgeries; if you have had surgery in and around the belly button area, it can be a cause of recurring pain in belly button area.

Stomach infection can also cause intense navel, as can acute constipation or diarrhea. Besides all these causes, stress is also one of the causes and this needs to be dealt with at the earliest, as it can affect your health adversely.

The worst thing that a person can do when experiencing pain behind belly button is failing to visit a doctor, and getting a serious medical investigation into the cause of pain. The causes of this pain are quite varied as you can see, and the doctor will suggest and administer some suitable form of treatment.

Ignoring this pain can have serious repercussions in the future, and can cause some great damage as a result. You must always make it a point to visit a doctor if you are suffering from this ailment.