Mild stomachaches can pop up from time to time, and often, you know the cause as soon as the symptoms occur. For instance, you might trace the aches and pains to a rich meal or a stomach virus going around the office.

While you can treat mild abdominal pain at home, it’s important to be aware of significant symptoms that indicate a life-threatening medical condition, such as appendicitis. Then, you can go to the emergency room for fast diagnosis and treatment.

Abdominal Pain

Evaluate the Pain to See If It’s an Emergency

First, you need to consider the type of pain you’re experiencing. If it’s a mild ache, at-home treatment will likely do the trick. If the mild pain persists, you can also visit an urgent care facility for an evaluation. Then, the provider can diagnose you and develop a treatment plan to relieve the pain.

However, unrelenting, severe pain is a different story. Several severe medical conditions can cause this, so you need to go to the ER for a complete diagnostic workup and treatment.

You can also evaluate the severity by touching your abdominal area. If you notice that it is sensitive to the touch, you could have an abdominal abscess, appendicitis, hernia, ovarian torsion, or another serious condition. If you notice pain when you apply pressure to your abdominal area you should visit an emergency room.

The location of the pain can also indicate an emergency. Does it feel like it’s radiating to your back or another area of your body? This could be a sign of pancreatitis, which can be fatal without immediate medical care.

Additional Symptoms That Indicate an Emergency

Sometimes, abdominal pain is accompanied by other symptoms. Regardless of the severity or location of your pain, go to the ER if you:

The ER physician will need to go over your symptoms and order diagnostic testing to determine the cause and severity of your condition. Then, the medical team will work to stabilize you before providing treatment. 

Severity and Location: ER or Urgent Care?

After assessing your symptoms, you might realize that you need medical help. However, you could still be unsure if you have a true medical emergency or simply need treatment to overcome your symptoms and begin healing.

Severity and location are the two most important factors to consider when deciding between the ER and urgent care.

For example, if your pain is so significant that you cannot stay upright when sitting or standing, the ER is the right choice. This is especially true if the severe pain is in the lower right abdomen, meaning it might be appendicitis. The condition can progress quickly and become fatal if left untreated.

However, if you have mild to moderate lower abdomen pain, it is probably not appendicitis or another potentially fatal condition. Instead, you might have ingestion or a urinary tract infection. It could even be menstrual cramps.

Even though the pain is mild to moderate, it might still be uncomfortable enough to become your primary focus. Fortunately, you can visit an urgent care facility to seek treatment. This is often preferred over scheduling an appointment with your primary care provider since you can get into urgent care immediately. 

Choosing Riverview Health ER & Urgent Care

Riverview Health Emergency Room & Urgent Care is the only health system in Hamilton County offering ER and urgent care services under one roof. Unlike most ER or urgent care centers, patients are only billed for the level of services they need. The ER is open 24 hours a day, every day of the week. The urgent care center is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. No appointments are not necessary for in-person visits; however, pre-registration is available.

Riverview Health Emergency Room Urgent Care has five convenient locations: