7 ways to cure stomach cramps - wikihow

7/27/2019 7 Ways to Cure Stomach Cramps - WikiHow

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How to Cure Stomach Cramps

Stomach cramps are painful but it's possible to relieve them using home remedies easily andeffectively. There are many possible causes of stomach cramps and they can affect or emanatefrom your digestive organs, your aorta, your appendix, your kidneys, or your spleen, or they canoriginate from an infection elsewhere in your body. Cramps are commonplace for some womenduring their menstrual cycle, although exercises can often alleviate such pain. The strength of paindoes not necessarily indicate seriousness: very painful cramps can be caused by gas passingthrough your digestive system harmlessly, whereas life-threatening conditions such as colon cancerand early appendicitis can produce mild or even no pain, so care needs to be taken not to judgethe cramp severity according to your pain level.

Find the source of your cramps

Try to pinpoint the area of your pain, or rely on your famili arit y with the type of

cramps. Doing this is important from the point of view of knowing how to treat them orknowing whether a doctor's visit is essential. Abdominal pain is considered to be pain feltanywhere from below your ribs to your pelvis. The following indicators might assist you:

Menstrual cramps are clearly experienced only by girls and women of menstruating age.These cramps usually occur in the first days of menstruation and do not last more than afew days.

Sharp, localized pains that stab or pierce can be a sign of a very serious condition such asappendicitis or a ruptured organ.

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ys to Cure Stomach Cramps - wikiHow http://www.wikihow.com/Cure-Stomac

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A dull, generally-spread pain might be indicative that your cramps, while painful, are notdangerous, but may require off the counter medication.

Lower back pain that persists might be a sign of kidney stones. See your doctor for advice.

Pain and burning sensations on urinating or passing stools can be a sign of a urinary tractinfection or constipation.

Cramps that appear following eating a large amount of food quickly, greasy food, foodsyou're allergic to, etc., can indicate a digestive system reaction.

Muscle spasms can bring about cramps when exercising or swimming.

Breathing

Use breathing t o divert your attention from the pain and to help relax you. This methodcan be effective for mild cramps.

Sit in a comfortable chair li ke a recli ner. Think about something pleasant.

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Focus on yourbreathing. Use a fast and shallow breathing rate, following a 1-2 (breathe infast, breathe out fast) rhythm.

Continue until you notice some improvement or don't feel li ke doing this any longer.Don't overdo it, however.

Rest. The more rest, the better.


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Fluids and foods

Call your doctor and ask advice.

It's impor tant to avoid overloading your digestive system with food that wil l add to the

digestive burden. Keep things simple (bland) for a while until the cramps pass; if youexperience any vomiting, don't eat until 6 hours have passed.

Avoid any compl ex drinks, alcohol, or any caf feinated or carbonated dri nk . Sip wateror clear fluids.

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Don't eat solid food whi le you have the cramps or for a few hours foll owing. When youresume eating again, eat simple items such as rice, applesauce, bananas, toast, or plain

crackers.

Don't eat dairy products, acidic foods such as tomatoes, and fast food (greasy foods).

Exercise

Easy exerci se can aid i n cramp rel ief i f the source of the cramps are not muscular.

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Try to exerc ise the cramps away. Take a walk around your house, or in the garden. Thiscan be helpful when you find that sitting or lying down is uncomfortable. It's not advised to

walk too far from a bathroom, though, just in case the cramps are signaling the onset ofdiarrhea.

Do not do abdominal exercis es if you are experiencing a cramp in your stomach

muscles (rectus abdominus). If you can quickly get into the cobra pose and stretch yourcramping muscles, you may be able to completely avoid the intense pain, that follows a cramp

that was not stretched, and also avoid the pain of a muscle, that was not stretched, two orthree days after the severe cramp. Do abdominal muscle exercises at another time when yourmuscles are no longer hurting.


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Try yoga. If you're familiar with yoga, consider some poses that open up the abdominal region.Depending where the cramps are, consider fish pose or reclining hero. Downward facing dog

can also be helpful. But if your cramps are muscular in nature, exercise your abdominalmuscles at another time and merely stretch them in the cobra pose. Any position where youare facing up, looking forward or facing the ceiling will result in a minuscule amount ofabdominal tension. The only way to completely avoid abdominal muscular tension is to lay facedown on a bed or floor and relax. With a severe cramp, laying down is the best cure for it and ifsomeone can put a blanket over you it will help a lot. If the cramp is from doing an excessiveamount of exercise, you need to examine your reason and methodology in exercising. Thereare many muscles in your body to exercise; do not focus on just your abdominal muscles.

Keep warm and wear an additi onal piece of clothing around your torso area like a vest.If you are at home, quickly go to the shower and take a warm to hot shower to warm up yourabdominal muscles and to avoid the muscular cramp completely.


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When doing abdominal exercises, know your limits . Have a limit in what you can do in aday and in a week. It is proven that spot reducing is not possible. If your abdominal area has

an excessive amount of fat, you cannot reduce the fat just in that area by doing abdominalexercises several times a week. Do abdominal exercises no more than twice a week butlifelong. Keep a log of your abdominal work and you will notice that cramping will occur at agreater frequency when your gradually increasing workload has reached your limit. Do lesscrunches in each session or decrease the amount of sessions you do in a month.

Home remedies

Place a heating pad, heated wheat bag, or hot water bot tle on your back to give

temporary relief. While some advice suggests that you do not to apply the heating pad toyour abdomen in case this brings on nausea, other advice considers this to be appropriate.Decide on which approach best suits your needs through your knowledge of your ownpreferences and responses to the application of heat.

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Lie down for a few minutes and relax. Close your eyes. Place a cool moist washcloth overyour forehead.

Breathe slowl y and evenly, trying to keep your mind of f the pain. Keep relaxing andperhaps even allow yourself to drift off to sleep.


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Al low yourself t o pass gas, even if you are in pol ite company. It may be somewhatembarrassing, but you do not want to allow yourself to become bloated or let the cramps

become more serious and painful.

Take a soak in a warm bath. Don't make it too hot, just comfortable. And leave as soon asyou feel you've had enough; if it's not helping, try something else.

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Marij uana use calms an upset stomach but is il legal in many countries .

Over-the-counter medications

Take over-the-counter medications. There is a range of over-the-counter remedies aimed athelping with cramps. Their effectiveness will depend on the reason for your cramps andpurchasing the right product. It is recommended that you check the labels carefully and ask

the pharmacist for advice on a specific product.


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Some products are aimed at relieving the pressure from gas build-up, such as Gas-ex.

H2 blockers (e.g. Tagamet, Pepcid, and Zantac) help to relieve gas and quell cramps.

Kaopectate, Pepto-bismol, and Imodium are aimed at relieving cramps associated with

diarrhea.

Over-the-counter antacids such as Pepto-Bismol may help some stomach related pains.

Take a mild laxative to encourage a bowel movement for reli ef, if consti pation is

causing the cramps.

Do not take aspirin, ibuprofen, or any other anti-inflammatory medications or narcoti c

pain medications un less your doctor has seen you and has prescribed these; they can

worsen some stomach pains. If you know that the source of your cramps is menstrual,however, anti-inflammatories can be taken. Acetaminophen is acceptable if you are certainthat your pain is not related to your liver.

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Prevention

Notice i f there is any food that seems to disagree with your digesti ve system. If yousuffer from cramps often, this may be indicative of an intolerance to certain foods. It isadvisable to keep a food diary and try to determine if there is an association with a certain foodor group of foods and your stomach cramps.

Milk and milk products may cause cramps and stomach pain in people who are lactoseintolerant.

Failing to drink sufficient liquids may cause stomach and muscle cramps. This can beexacerbated by strenuous exercise.

Eating an excessive amount of non-soluble fiber may cause cramps associated withconstipation.

Some people are sensitive to uncooked vegetables and fruits, particularly if the peels arenot removed.

Limit gas-producing goods (e.g. beans, fatty foods, dairy products).

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Exercise regularl y. Try to include stretching as part of your exercise routine.

Keep stress l evels under control . If the condition coincides with stressful situations, try toavoid stress as much as possible, and look at learning stress management techniques.

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If you have time then go take a nap.

Don't eat spicy foods.

If the problem is digestive,lie on your left side,it helps digestion and eases pain.

Lie on your left side for several minutes. Do not lay on your stomach.

Try drinking water to ease the pain. Depending on the cause of the pain you may need to drinkseveral glasses of water. The act of drinking the water will keep things from seizing up. In thecases of a spastic sphincter, say, it can help the spasms to stop. Remember it's the act ofdrinkingnot the amount you drink. Drink more or less continually, stopping to breathe andrelax, until you feel relief. However, if you feel too full, this method is not working, so you needto stop at that point.

Don't stress about what the cramps could be caused by. The more you make a mental note themore you think you cramp.

If you feel gas let it out, don't hold it in.

Drink water, take deep breaths, and just relax.

Drink water every day it will help.

Concentrate on something else, and don't think about the pain!

Show 7 more tips

Look into the possibility that you might be suffering from a condition or a disease that causescramping. Some of the conditions or diseases that can cause cramping include Crohn'sSyndrome, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), ulcers, diverticulitis, bowel obstruction, pancreatitis,ulcerative colitis, urinary infections, cancers, and hernias. Ask for your doctor's advice and

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seek medical testing and treatment options if this turns out to be an issue. Every one of thesepossibilities is serious.

Diarrhea associated with stomach cramps may cause dehydration, which can lead to shock oreven death. Drink an electrolyte solution like Pedialyte or a clear, low-carbohydrate sports drinkfrequently if you experience diarrhea for an extended period of time.

Stomach cramps may be a symptom of a serious medical condition like food poisoning,disease, or allergies. If you experience fever, severe nausea, or sweating, seek medical help.This is especially true if someone else suffers the same symptoms after a shared meal.

Don't go overboard with the exercises. Only do them one to three times, and quit if the painincreases.

Prolonged or frequent cramps, especially associated with loose stools or diarrhea, may indicate

a serious medical condition.

Any baby under 3 months that vomits or has diarrhea should be seen by a doctor immediately.

See a doctor immediately if you're vomiting blood, or pass blood in a stool, you're pregnant (ormight be), your stomach is rigid and tender to touch, your abdomen has been injured recently,you can't breathe well, or you have chest, neck, or shoulder pain.

See a doctor if you've experienced abdominal discomfort lasting more than a week or pain formore than 24-48 hours, bloating for over 2 days, a fever, any burning sensation on urinating,diarrhea longer than 5 days, poor appetite, or unexplained weight loss.

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MedLine Plus, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003120.htm1.


Warnings

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7 ways to cure stomach cramps - wikihow

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