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:

1. For symptomatic relief you can take acid suppressing drugs such Ranitidine or Omeprazole.
2. Follow good dietary habits such as regular timely meals, take light meals, avoid spicy and oily foods.
3. Avoid stress, join yoga and go for regular morning walk.
4. And lastly, you must stop smoking.