Look Who it Was Random video

The Belly Blues

2,669 views · Published 29 February 2016 · 1:36 · Indexed 21 October 2026

Channel: Lee Health · 2016 · Science & Technology

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Abdominal pain is one of the most common reasons adults visit the emergency department. For mild abdominal pain, call your doctor first. If the pain is sudden, severe or does not ease within 30 minutes, you should seek emergency attention.

“So what we’re looking for is anything that needs to be addressed emergently things like infection or obstruction or things like that,” says Lee Memorial Health System emergency medicine physician, Dr. Ian Backstrom. 

Whether in your doctor’s office or the ER, when diagnosing abdominal pain, the physician will check your stomach for tenderness and review your vital signs, urine and blood work before ordering more detailed diagnostic tests.

“A lot of times if you have sever abdominal pain we have to do imaging and that can come in the form of an x-ray or a fancier kind of x-ray, which is called cat scan machine, and sometimes we can just do an ultrasound,” says Dr. Ian Backstrom. 

Some of the most common causes of stomach pain are indigestion, food poisoning, ulcers or a virus; but it’s important to not self-diagnose. Abdominal discomfort can sometimes be a sign of a more serious condition like appendicitis or gallstones.

“I always tell patients that they need to listen to their body and we’re here for a reason and if they’re ever in doubt or if they’re ever worried about something a lot of times that’s your body telling you that there may be an emergency going on,” says Dr. Backstrom. 

Next time you have a stomachache, remember to listen to your gut. 


View More Health Matters video segments at leememorial.org/healthmatters/

Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

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