"We’re seeing a virtual epidemic of bloating these days. The causes range from benign yet bothersome conditions like lactose intolerance to serious diagnoses like cancer. But how do you know whether your bloating is a nuisance or a sign of something more worrisome? You’re seriously bloated when your symptoms are caused by a condition that requires immediate medical attention. It’s important to be familiar with the warning signs and symptoms that might indicate something ominous, as well as the nine diagnoses associated with serious bloating, and what to do about them.
- Warning Signs and Symptoms:
Weight loss is one of the main warning signs for serious bloating. If you find yourself losing more than a few pounds without changing your diet or starting a new exercise regimen, that should be cause for concern, especially if it’s 10 percent or more of your body weight. Weight loss can be caused by tumors that press on the intestines, making you feel full after just a small amount of food, or from substances secreted by tumors that suppress your appetite.
Ascites is an abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen or pelvis. It can cause bloating, weight gain, and a rapidly expanding waistline. Ascites is usually caused by liver disease, but cancer is the culprit about 10 percent of the time. A large amount of fluid can make you look and feel like you’re several months pregnant. The combination of bloating and jaundice, which turns the eyes and skin yellow, can be a sign of cancer that’s spread to the liver, although it can also occur with more benign forms of liver disease like hepatitis.
Severe abdominal pain and bloating that occur suddenly, especially if you also have nausea and vomiting, may be a sign of a bowel obstruction from scar tissue or a tumor pressing on the bowel. Immediate medical attention is a must to avoid complications like bowel perforation that can be fatal. Obstructions are painful, because the bowel above the blocked area stretches as it fills with food and digestive juices. The pain is intense and may occur in waves as the bowels try to push their contents through the obstructed area.
Blood in your stool, vaginal bleeding in between periods, or postmenopausal vaginal bleeding can all be associated with serious bloating. Fortunately, the most common causes of these symptoms (hemorrhoids, an irregular menstrual cycle, fibroids, endometrial atrophy) aren’t the most serious, but bleeding should always be evaluated because it can be a sign of cancer, particularly colon or uterine cancer.
Fever that accompanies bloating is usually due to infection or inflammation. If there’s also an elevated white blood cell count, infection needs to be immediately excluded — particularly from a pelvic, urinary, or gastrointestinal source".
Fuente: www.everydayhealth.com
