Chronic functional abdominal pain (CFAP) is the ongoing presence of abdominal pain for which there is no physical explanation. It is quite similar to, but less common than, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and many of the same treatments for IBS can also be of benefit to those with CFAP. The fundamental difference between Irritable Bowel Syndrome and CFAP is that in CFAP, unlike in IBS, there is no change in bowel habits such as constipation or diarrhea. Bowel dysfunction is a necessary diagnostic criteria of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Abdominal pain can be one of the symptoms associated with transient disorders or serious disease. ... Constipation is a condition of the digestive system where a person (or other animal) experiences hard feces that is difficult to eliminate; it may be extremely painful, and in extreme cases (fecal impaction) lead to symptoms of bowel obstruction. ... Diarrhea (AmE) or diarrhoea (CwE) is a condition in which the sufferer has frequent and watery/chunky or loose bowel movements (from the ancient Greek word διαÏÏοή = leakage; lit. ...
CFAP is characterized by chronic pain, with no physical explanation or findings (no structural, infectious, or mechanical causes can be found). It is theorized that CFAP is a disorder of the nervous system where normal nerve impulses are amplified "like a stereo system turned up too loud" resulting in pain. This visceral hypersensitivity may be a stand-alone cause of CFAP, or CFAP may result from the same type of brain-gut nervous system disorder that underlies IBS. As with IBS, low doses of antidepressants have been found useful in controlling the pain of CFAP. Chronic pain is medically defined as pain that has lasted 6 months or longer. ... The nervous system of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and processes input from the senses, and initiates actions. ... Pain is an unpleasant sensation which may be associated with actual or potential tissue damage and which may have physical and emotional components. ... An antidepressant is a medication used primarily in the treatment of clinical depression. ...
Non-pharmaceutical approaches to CFAP also overlap with treatments for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. This includes enteric coated peppermint oil capsules, which act as anti-spasmodics to relax the gut and also have pain-killing properties due to the methyl salicylate that naturally occurs in peppermint. Gut-directed hypnotherapy or self-hypnosis can also mitigate the hyperreactive nervous system of CFAP, and help alleviate abdominal pain.
External links
Chronic Functional Abdominal Pain - International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, Inc.
Help for Irritable Bowel Syndrome - IBS and abdominal pain patient education, treatments, and community
Chronic Intractable Abdominal Pain - Buderim Gastroenterology Centre
Due to the many organ systems in the abdomen, abdominalpain is a concern of general practitioners/family physicians, surgeons, internists, emergency medicine doctors, pediatricians, gastroenterologists, urologists and gynecologists.
The pain associated with inflammation of the parietal peritoneum is steady and aching, and worsened by changes in the tension of peritoneum caused by pressure or positional change, and is often accompanied by tension of the abdominal muscles contracting to relieve such tension.
Pain that is felt in the abdomen may be "referred" from elsewhere (e.g., a disease process in the chest, like a subdiaphragmatic abscess, may cause pain in the abdomen), and abdominal processes can cause radiated pain elsewhere (e.g.
In reality, the chronicabdominalpain syndrome is a common condition that affects 10 to 15 percent of school-aged children between the ages of 5 and 15.
Chronicabdominalpain is defined as multiple (more than three) pain attacks during a continuous three-month period that are sufficient to alter the normal activities of daily life.
Pain is often poorly defined (e.g., sharp or dull), varies in severity, and may be incapacitating, causing the child to assume a fetal position (lying down, with knees bent to chest).
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