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Abdominal pain - most people call it a stomachache - is pain or discomfort anywhere in your tummy. The causes the NHS lists first are everyday ones: trapped wind, indigestion, constipation, and a stomach bug or food poisoning. Pain that is severe, keeps coming back, or comes with other symptoms is the kind that needs looking at rather than waiting out.
Abdominal pain is any pain or discomfort felt in the tummy, between your chest and your hips. It can be a cramp that comes and goes, a dull ache that sits in one place, or a pain sharp enough to stop you in your tracks.
What comes with the pain usually tells you more than the pain itself. The NHS pairs stomachache with a short list of everyday explanations: feeling bloated and farting a lot points to trapped wind; feeling full and bloated after eating, with heartburn and feeling sick, points to indigestion; not being able to poo points to constipation; and watery poo with feeling sick or vomiting points to a stomach bug or food poisoning [1].
It is also worth knowing that not everything felt in the tummy starts in the digestive system. The NHS's own advice for a stomachache includes symptoms that have nothing to do with digestion - a sudden change in how often or how comfortably you pee, unusual bleeding or discharge from the vagina, being pregnant, and, in its emergency list, chest pain [1]. Urinary, gynaecological and heart problems can all be felt as pain in the tummy, which is one of the reasons an assessment starts with a conversation or consultation rather than a test.
The NHS sets out two levels of urgency for a stomachache, and they are not the same thing. Neither list is a diagnosis. They are the points at which the NHS says to stop waiting and get help.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if [1]:
Call 999 or go to A&E if [1]:
The NHS also advises do not drive to A&E - ask someone to drive you or call 999 and ask for an ambulance - and bring any medicines you take with you [2].
LivingCare is a specialist outpatient service and is not an emergency care facility. If your symptoms are sudden or severe, call 999.
Several of the symptoms in that urgent list are the ones a gastroenterologist assesses: pain that keeps coming back, bloating that will not settle, difficulty swallowing food, losing weight without trying, and bleeding from the bottom. If bloating rather than pain is the thing you notice most, see Bloating.
Grouping the causes by where the pain sits is a rough guide rather than a rule, but it is how most people describe it and it helps narrow things down.
Pain in the upper tummy. Discomfort high up, tied to eating and drinking, is often the after-a-meal picture: feeling full and bloated, feeling sick, burping, or bringing food or bitter-tasting fluid back up. The NHS describes this as acid from your stomach irritating your stomach lining or throat, and lists food and drink, being overweight, smoking, pregnancy, stress and anxiety, anti-inflammatory painkillers, and a hiatus hernia among the things that cause or worsen it [3]. It can also come from a stomach ulcer, an open sore in the stomach lining [3]. Where fullness after eating rather than pain is the main thing you notice, see Indigestion.
Pain lower down. Constipation is a common explanation: alongside going less often, or straining, or feeling you have not fully emptied your bowels; the NHS notes you may also have a stomachache and feel bloated or sick [4]. The NHS can be very precise about this boundary - stomachache and back pain are usually not symptoms of indigestion, and constipation may be behind them instead [3]. Where pain comes with a change in your bowel habit, the NHS lists causes of diarrhoea that are not infections: medicines, a food intolerance or food allergy, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), anxiety, appendicitis, inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease, diverticular disease, and radiation treatment in the pelvic area [5]. The list is not exhaustive.
Pain across the whole tummy. Gas is the usual culprit. The most common reason for bloating is having a lot of gas in your gut, which can come from certain foods and drinks or from swallowing air when you eat, and can also follow constipation, food intolerance, coeliac disease or IBS [2]. A stomach bug or food poisoning tends to arrive with watery poo, feeling sick and vomiting [1]; the NHS says diarrhoea usually stops within 5 to 7 days, and vomiting within 1 or 2 days [5].
Everyday causes are the common ones, but they are not the only ones - which is the argument for having pain that persists looked at properly rather than assuming.
A visit to your GP or gastroenterology consultation is the starting point - the specialist reviews your symptoms and arranges only the tests they call for. Most of the work is in history: where the pain is, what it feels like, how long it has been there, what brings it on and eases it, and what else has changed. Your specialist will review your symptoms, medical history and any previous test results before carrying out a clinical assessment.
The consultation covers conditions affecting the digestive system, including the oesophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas and gallbladder. Where further investigation is needed, that may mean Endoscopy - the camera tests used to look inside the digestive tract - along with blood tests or imaging such as ultrasound, CT or MRI. Which of these you need, if any, is decided at the consultation and not before.
You can book a Gastroenterology Consultation directly, or read more about our Gastroenterology service. Self-pay, with no GP referral needed. If you are using medical insurance, your insurer may ask for a GP referral letter.
Medically reviewed by: Dr N. Chandra, Consultant Endoscopist. Last reviewed: 09/10/26
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