Everyone experiences stomach pain or other gastrointestinal (GI) issues from time-to-time. Many times, these can be minor issues that resolve themselves over time. 

Common GI issues include food poisoning, a stomach virus, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), celiac disease, or any number of other conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

When do you need to take your GI issue seriously?

●If you experience a troubling gut pain for more than a few days, it might be due to a serious illness hence the need  to see your healthcare provider or a gastroenterologist.

●Abdominal pain from time-to-time can be manageable when caused by gas, stomach bugs, or even food poisoning. However, intense, crampy, and persistent, or on and off  abdominal pain for days is a cause for alarm.

● A significant change in bowel movements frequency can be a cause for concern. Some people go three-to-four times a day, which can be normal.  Others only move their bowels once a day, also normal. 

●Chronic diarrhoea accompanied with fatigue

●Bloody bowel movements.

● Chronic constipation.

●Mucus in stool.

●Nausea and vomiting

●Extraintestinal symptoms such as pain outside the gut.

●Incomplete bowel movement.

●Weight loss

●Loss of appetite