Symptoms of intestinal obstruction in women

When you have abdominal pain, you must pay attention to whether intestinal obstruction has occurred. One of the symptoms of intestinal obstruction in women is paroxysmal abdominal colic, which will be accompanied by bowel sounds. Once this happens, you must seek medical treatment promptly. Worsening intestinal obstruction can cause complications, and abdominal B-ultrasound can confirm whether it is intestinal obstruction. The symptoms of intestinal obstruction are basically the same for men and women, so they should not be taken lightly.

Symptoms of intestinal obstruction in women include abdominal pain: often paroxysmal abdominal colic. When abdominal pain occurs, patients often feel that there is gas running in the abdomen, and can see or feel the intestinal shape and hear loud bowel sounds. In the late stage of the disease, due to excessive expansion and weak contraction of the intestine above the obstruction, the degree and frequency of pain are reduced. When intestinal paralysis occurs, the abdominal pain turns into persistent bloating.

Vomiting: The frequency, amount and characteristics of vomiting vary with the location of the obstruction.

Abdominal distension: Abdominal distension caused by intestinal dilation during obstruction. The degree of abdominal distension varies depending on whether the obstruction is complete and the location of the obstruction.

Stop passing gas and defecation: Intestinal obstruction causes the intestinal contents to be blocked and cannot be discharged from the body, so the anus stops passing gas and defecation. However, it must be noted that intestinal contents distal to the obstruction can still be transported downward by peristalsis. Thus, even with complete obstruction, the patient may continue to pass gas and stool until these contents are empty, only to cease passing gas and stool after they are empty. Of course, in incomplete obstruction, the phenomenon of flatulence and defecation will not completely disappear.

When the above symptoms occur, you should seek medical examination and diagnosis promptly. The most helpful special examinations for intestinal obstruction are abdominal plain film and barium enema.

An upright abdominal plain film can show intestinal distension. The annular folds of the jejunal mucosa appear like "fishbones" when the intestinal cavity is inflated. The colon can show colonic pouches. The intestinal distension with inflated intestinal cavity is above the obstruction. In cases of complete small bowel obstruction, the colon will not be visible. If the left colon is obstructed, the right colon will be filled with air. In case of low colon obstruction, the left colon may be inflated with gas.

Although the B-ultrasound examination that everyone is familiar with is simple, the intestinal bloating affects the diagnostic effect. The accuracy of CT diagnosis is better than that of B-ultrasound. It can diagnose obvious solid masses or fluid accumulation outside the intestinal cavity. Sometimes abdominal CT can also find the cause and lesion site of intestinal obstruction, providing important information for surgery.