Stomach pain: common causes, home remedies and when to worry

Abdominal pain is pain anywhere between your chest and your groin. Many Filipinos call the upper middle part, just below the breastbone, the sikmura, and the whole belly the tiyan.

How it feels gives clues:

• All over the belly: more typical of a stomach bug, indigestion or gas.
• In one spot: more likely a problem in one organ, such as the appendix, gallbladder or stomach.
• Cramping: usually gas and bloating, often followed by diarrhea. It is more worrying if it keeps coming back, lasts more than 24 hours, or comes with fever or bleeding from the bottom.
• In waves: pain that starts and stops suddenly and is often severe. Kidney stones and gallstones often cause this kind of pain.

Where it hurts can also point to a cause:

• Upper middle (sikmura): indigestion, acid reflux or a stomach ulcer.
• Upper right, under the ribs: gallstones.
• Lower right: appendicitis (see pain in the lower right abdomen).
• Lower belly in women: period pain, an ovary problem, a pregnancy outside the womb, or a urine infection.
• Pain that spreads to the groin: kidney stones, often with nausea and pain when peeing.

How bad it hurts doesn't always match how serious it is. Gas can hurt a lot, while early appendicitis may hurt only a little. Only a health worker who examines you can tell what is wrong.

Most stomach pain comes from something that is not serious:

• Trapped gas (kabag): bloating and passing a lot of gas.
• Indigestion: feeling full and bloated after eating, heartburn, burping or nausea.
• Constipation: hard, dry poo, straining, or pooing less often than usual.
• Stomach bug or food poisoning: watery poo, nausea and vomiting, often within hours or days of eating unsafe food.
• Period pain: cramps in the lower belly that can spread to the back and thighs.
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): cramps and bloating that keep coming back.

Infections to think of in the Philippines:

• Typhoid: a fever that lasts for days, with tiredness, headache, belly pain, and constipation or diarrhea. It spreads through unsafe food and water and needs antibiotics.
• Dengue: severe belly pain or vomiting that won't stop, often after the fever goes down, is a warning sign of severe dengue. See our guide on dengue symptoms and warning signs.
• Intestinal worms (bulate): heavy infections can cause belly pain, diarrhea and poor growth in children. Deworming medicine is safe and cheap; ask your health center about it.
• Urine infection: pain low in the belly with burning or frequent peeing. See our UTI symptoms guide.

Less often, the cause is gallstones, an inflamed pancreas, a blocked bowel, a hernia, kidney stones or cancer. These need a doctor.

Appendicitis is a swollen, infected appendix, a small pouch of the bowel. It needs urgent treatment in a hospital.

The pain usually starts around the belly button. After a few hours it moves to the lower right side and gets worse. It often hurts more when you move, cough or press on the spot. You may also have nausea or vomiting, loss of appetite, fever, constipation or diarrhea.

Not everyone has this pattern. Young children, older people and pregnant women may have milder pain or pain in another place.

If the pain suddenly gets better, don't relax. A burst appendix can ease the pain for a short time before severe pain spreads across the whole belly. This is an emergency.

Pain that keeps getting worse or moves to the lower right needs a doctor the same day. Severe pain needs the emergency room now.

Treatment is usually an operation to remove the appendix (appendectomy), often by keyhole surgery. You don't need your appendix, and most people recover in 1 to 2 weeks.

Burning pain in the upper belly is often called hyperacidity or "ulcer". It may come from indigestion, acid reflux or a stomach ulcer, a sore in the stomach lining. Ulcer pain is often worse at night and may come with heartburn, bloating and nausea.

Many people believe ulcers come from spicy food or skipping meals. The main causes are:

• infection with H. pylori bacteria, and
• regular use of anti-inflammatory painkillers (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, aspirin and mefenamic acid.

Stress is not a main cause, but it can make symptoms worse. Coffee, alcohol, and fatty or spicy food can bring on indigestion, so cutting down on them can help.

A doctor can test for H. pylori with a breath, poo or blood test, and may prescribe antibiotics and a medicine that lowers stomach acid. See a doctor if indigestion keeps coming back, instead of buying acid medicines for weeks on your own.

For mild stomach pain without danger signs:

• Sip water or other clear fluids.
• Rest your stomach. Skip solid food for a few hours, then try small amounts of plain food such as rice, plain lugaw or crackers.
• Avoid fried or fatty food, spicy food, coffee, alcohol, soft drinks and citrus fruits.
• For diarrhea or vomiting, drink oral rehydration solution (ORS). Don't drink fruit juice or soft drinks, which can make diarrhea worse. See our diarrhea guide.
• For constipation, drink more water, eat more fiber (fruit, vegetables, oats) and move more.
• For period cramps, use a warm bath or a warm pad on your lower belly. Paracetamol, or ibuprofen if a pharmacist says it is safe for you, can also ease period pain.
• For burning pain after meals, an antacid may help. Eat smaller meals and don't eat in the 3 to 4 hours before bed.

About painkillers:

• Apart from period cramps, don't take ibuprofen, aspirin or mefenamic acid for stomach pain unless a doctor says so. They can cause ulcers and bleeding, and they are unsafe if a fever could be dengue.
• Paracetamol can ease the discomfort of a stomach bug. Take only the dose on the label.
• If the pain is severe, get checked first instead of taking medicine for it.
• Don't give children painkillers for belly pain before asking a doctor. Never give children under 12 medicine to stop diarrhea, and never give aspirin to anyone under 16.
• If you have diabetes and can't eat normally, check your blood sugar more often and ask your doctor about your medicines.

Home traditions: many families rub oil on the belly, use a warm compress, or see a manghihilot. Warmth and a gentle rub can ease period cramps. But a belly that hurts more when pressed needs a doctor, not a massage, and home remedies should never replace ORS for diarrhea.

Not sure what is causing your pain? Ask our free AI symptom guide, any time.

Most stomach pain in children is not serious. Common causes are gas, constipation, a stomach bug, a sore throat, and worry or stress.

Babies and toddlers can't tell you they hurt. Suspect belly pain if your child is fussier than usual, draws their legs up toward the belly, or eats poorly.

At home, let your child lie quietly, offer sips of water or ORS, ask them to try to poo, and give small amounts of plain food after a few hours.

See a doctor if the pain lasts more than 24 hours or keeps getting worse, or comes with fever of 38°C or higher, burning when peeing, vomiting for more than 12 hours, or diarrhea for more than 2 days.

Go to the emergency room if a baby under 3 months has vomiting or diarrhea, or a child has sudden sharp pain, a hard belly, blood in the vomit or poo, can't poo and is vomiting, has trouble breathing, has an injury to the belly, or may have swallowed something poisonous or a coin. Keep medicines, cleaning products and coins out of reach.

In boys, belly pain can come from a twisted testicle. If his testicles hurt or are swollen, get him seen straight away.

See also our guide on fever in babies and children.

If you are pregnant or could be pregnant, stomach pain needs a doctor quickly. A pregnancy outside the womb (ectopic pregnancy) usually shows between weeks 4 and 12, with pain low down on one side, vaginal bleeding or brown discharge, or pain in the tip of the shoulder. Get advice even without a positive pregnancy test. Sudden sharp pain with dizziness, fainting or paleness is an emergency. See our guide on early signs of pregnancy.

Older adults may have little pain even with appendicitis. Sudden confusion with belly pain needs a doctor straight away.

It may be your heart. A heart attack can feel like indigestion, with burning or fullness in the upper belly or chest. Call 911 or go to the emergency room if this comes with chest pain, pain spreading to the arm, neck or jaw, sweating or shortness of breath. Don't drive yourself.

The doctor will ask about your pain, other symptoms, periods and medicines, and press on your belly. You may need blood, urine or stool tests, a pregnancy test, an ultrasound, an ECG (heart tracing) or a CT scan.

Check-ups and medicines (YAKAP): PhilHealth's July 2025 FAQ says visits and the lab tests your YAKAP doctor orders are free at the YAKAP clinic where you are registered. Prescribed medicines are free up to 20,000 pesos per person a year, and a private YAKAP clinic can charge at most 900 pesos for the whole year. As of mid-2026, PhilHealth's GAMOT medicine list includes an antacid, omeprazole (it lowers stomach acid), ORS, zinc for diarrhea, paracetamol and a deworming medicine. Read our PhilHealth YAKAP guide.

Emergency room: since November 2025, PhilHealth's Outpatient Emergency Care Benefit covers abdominal pain. If an accredited hospital's ER sends you home within 24 hours, it pays for the listed tests, scans and medicines. Any Filipino citizen can use it, even if not yet registered: the hospital helps you sign up.

Operations: the newest case rates we found in October 2026 (PhilHealth Circular 2024-0037) are 46,800 pesos for removing the appendix and 60,450 pesos for removing the gallbladder, by keyhole or open surgery. The hospital's PhilHealth desk can tell you what, if anything, is left to pay. See what PhilHealth covers.

You can find a health center or hospital near you or book a call with a nurse.