Many afflictions can cause stomach aches, but one of the main culprits is food. Each year, 76 million people get sick from a foodborne illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, mostly in those who are elderly or have a reduced immune system function. In most cases, stomach problems related to food are mild, easily treated and quickly pass.
Causes
Stomach pain after eating often comes simply from overindulging at your meal. A common term used when you feel pain, bloating, belching or nausea after eating is indigestion, and it's normal for people to get it occasionally, according to an article from The Raiter Clinic in Cloquet, Minnesota. However, other more serious causes of stomach pain exist that can create big problems.
A common cause of stomach pain after eating is an ulcer in the stomach, upper intestine or duodenum. Your stomach hurts because either stomach acid or food is irritating the ulcer.
If your food has been tainted by a viral, bacterial or chemical agent, you could experience food poisoning. This starts with mild or moderate pain in the stomach and leads to diarrhea and vomiting. You can also experience headaches, fever and chills after 12 to 48 hours after eating the contaminated food. A rare but serious form of food poisoning is botulism, which would present itself as the stomach pain of food poisoning along with partial loss of speech or vision, muscle weakness, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth or muscle paralysis.
Additionally, those who suffer from lactose intolerance often get a stomachache along with diarrhea and nausea when they eat food that contains lactose, which is the milk sugar found in dairy products.
Symptoms
The symptoms of stomach pain after eating food vary depending on the cause of the pain. However, common symptoms include cramping, gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea and vomiting, according to health website Caring Medical. You might also experience tenderness in the abdomen or rebound tenderness, which is when sharp pain occurs after pressure is released from your abdomen.
Treatment
The first step to treating stomach pain after eating is to identify its cause. For general indigestion, an over-the-counter antidiarrheal can soothe and treat stomach pain. If the stomach pain is followed by extreme bouts of vomiting or diarrhea, seek medical care.
Medical Care
When visiting a doctor for stomach pain relating to intake of food, his first step will be to determine the cause of the stomach pain. Tests can find out if its being caused by a bacteria, intolerance or allergy, or condition such as an ulcer. In many cases, the doctor will prescribe an acid blocker, according to Caring Medical.
Prevention/Solution
It's possible to prevent stomach pain from food intolerance or food poisoning by watching what you eat and practicing sanitary food preparation. In general, eating fiber-rich food, such as fruits and vegetables, can keep your bowel movements regular, which goes a long way in preventing stomach pain.
To avoid becoming sick from food allergies or intolerance, be scrupulous in reading food labels to make sure you don't accidentally ingest something that could cause you pain.
To prevent food poisoning, cook meat, poultry and eggs thoroughly. Use a thermometer to check meats' internal temperature and cook eggs until the yolk is firm. Do not leave perishable food at room temperature for more than two hours. Bacteria grow quickly at room temperature, according to the CDC.
