The underlying cause Normal digestion depends on your body’s ability to push your food through your digestive tract. This process is called peristalsis and involves rhythmic, wave-like contractions of the gut to gently squeeze and break down food and move it along your digestive tract. Usually you won’t feel these gentle contractions at all. The entire digestive tract is very sensitive. A variety of dietary and lifestyle factors such as eating something that doesn’t agree with you or a particularly stressful event can aggravate the movement of the smooth muscle along the digestive tract. When this happens the normally gentle wave-length contractions can go into spasm causing painful abdominal cramps.

Triggers

A combination of factors may cause painful spasms. These include:

• Diet or lifestyle changes
• Change of lifestyle
• Stress
• Food allergy or intolerances
• Food poisoning
• Gastro viral infections
• Over-activity of the gut
• Hormonal factors
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (www.ibs-relief.co.uk)

Speaking to a pharmacist

If you’re suffering from abdominal cramps ask your pharmacist for advice. Let them know how long you have been suffering and how often they occur. Think about when you tend to experience cramps and how long they usually last. Your pharmacist will be able to advise you on lifestyle and dietary changes that may help and when these changes are not enough, provide you with information on over the counter products you can buy to ease your symptoms.

Related conditions

Stomach cramps can be a symptom of other conditions, most commonly

Irritable Bowel Syndrome and
Constipation

Other conditions that can cause stomach cramps include:

• Food poisoning – along with vomiting and diarrhoea, stomach cramps are one on the most common symptoms of food poisoning. It is important to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration, particularly in children. If your symptoms persist, or become worse you should contact your doctor.
• Viral infection – there are a group of viruses known as the noroviruses that cause ‘stomach flu’ or gastroenteritis. These viruses produce similar symptoms to food poisoning – vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps. There is no specific treatment for a norovirus, apart from letting the condition run its course. It is important to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration, particularly in children. Babies should be given their normal feed. If symptoms persist longer than a couple of days then you should contact your doctor.
• Lactose intolerance – this is an intolerance to dairy products such as milk, cheese and cream, or any foods containing these dairy products. People with lactose intolerance do not produce enough of the digestive chemical that breaks down lactose in the stomach. Symptoms of lactose intolerance will depend on how much dairy or dairy containing foods you have consumed. Symptoms include bloating, nausea, diarrhoea and stomach cramps. Because many people think they're lactose intolerant when they in fact aren't, it helps to see a doctor who can diagnose the condition correctly and advise you on ways to manage it.

 

 

Organs	Digestion & abdominal cramps	Buscopan® Cramps	Helpful advice