Why do I feel pain in the stomach so often?
Q: I am a 21 years old man having problem on the left side of my stomach for the last 2 months. Whenever I am hungry or cough or in stress I feel the pain. I smoke but not too much. Please advise.
A:I note that you complain of stomach problem with pain on left side whenever you are hungry, during stress & also during cough. The symptoms are most likely related to acid peptic disease. This is usually because of hyper acidity, which gets worse with stress / anxiety, tension & bad food habits. I must say that smoking is well known to aggravate acid peptic symptoms. I also note that you are working in a managerial post. Is there a lot of work related stress & anxiety?
To get a proper relief, you should undergo some basic examination under the care of a medicine specialist or a gastroenterologist.
Further advice is as follows:
- For symptomatic relief you can take acid suppressing drugs such Ranitidine or Omeprazole.
- Follow good dietary habits such as regular timely meals, take light meals, avoid spicy and oily foods.
- Avoid stress, join yoga and go for regular morning walk.
- And lastly, you must stop smoking.