When to Consider Urgent Care for Abdominal Pain

Abdominal pain happens to us all. It can also be hard to determine if your abdominal pain is a symptom of an underlying medical condition in need of urgent care or even emergency treatment.

At Carolina Urgent Care, our team of expert health care providers can help you determine the causes and severity of your abdominal pain, and recommend the right follow-up tests and treatments. If you’re not sure if you need urgent care for your abdominal pain, check in with our team at our Chapel Hill, North Carolina location.

We offer walk-in care, so getting evaluated is easy. Here are some helpful rules of thumb to guide your decision-making around seeking treatment for abdominal pain.

Causes of abdominal pain

Knowing the potential causes of your abdominal pain can make your next steps clearer.

Some causes of abdominal pain relate to digestion and elimination. These include gastroenteritis, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), acid reflux, food allergies, and gastritis. Many of these issues will resolve on their own after a short time, but if your symptoms are severe or persist for longer than a week, you could need treatment.

If conditions like IBS or acid reflux affect you frequently, you might benefit from treatment for long-term management. Chronic or severe symptoms could indicate a need for urgent care treatment.

Abdominal pain can also result from stomach ulcers, strained muscles, issues related to menstruation, or from bladder or urinary tract infections. Our team at Carolina Urgent Care can help with all of those issues.

Risk factors for abdominal pain and health complications

It can also help to take a look at your risk factors for complications related to abdominal pain. If your symptoms are extremely severe, or if you’ve recently undergone a medical procedure like appendectomy, abdominal pain can necessitate a trip to the emergency room.

Abdominal pain relating to appendicitis, cancer, or organ failure likely requires emergency medical treatment. Abdominal pain can also be a sign of heart problems like congestive heart failure. If you have upper abdominal pain with chest tightness, seek emergency care. That’s especially necessary if you’re older than 45 years old or have a history of heart problems.

Getting the urgent care you need

For non-emergency urgent care for your abdominal pain, turn to our team at Carolina Urgent Care. We provide physical examinations, X-ray imaging, and lab testing to accurately and efficiently diagnose the cause of your symptoms.

You don’t need an appointment at Carolina Urgent Care. Just walk in for evaluation and treatment. You can also call ahead. We’ll determine if you should go to the emergency room and assist you as necessary.

When you need help with abdominal pain, contact our team of family medicine and urgent care providers at Carolina Urgent Care over the phone or online. We’re open days, evenings, and weekends, with flexible operational hours to give you the support you need.