Health, Science and Technology

By LJ Miller

My Tummy Hurts…

One of the main reasons I am writing this is to potentially help save a childs life. Here is my story!

A few weeks ago my daughter complained of a stomach ache. Being the typical mom, I dismissed it as something she ate or needed to have a bowel movement. The next morning she said, “Mom my stomach still hurts.” I got her dressed, fed her crackers, and sent her off to school. Since I work at the school I told the teacher if her stomach continues to hurt allow her to put her head down and I would pick her up immediately following school. She rested all day in class completing some work but nothing major happened. I check with the teacher who stated she seemed fine by the end of the day. I checked with my daughter who stated she felt better, therefore I decided to stay at work and send her to extended care to play for a while.

Pain in the belly (abdomen) can come from conditions affecting a variety of organs. The abdomen is an anatomical area that is bounded by the lower margin of the ribs above, the pelvic bone (pubic ramus) below, and the flanks on each side. Although abdominal pain can arise from the tissues of the abdominal wall that surround the abdominal cavity (i.e., skin and abdominal wall muscles), the term abdominal pain generally is used to describe pain originating from organs within the abdominal cavity (i.e., beneath the skin and muscles).