ZocdocAnswersAbdominal pain, diarrhea, and fever - should I seek help?


Abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fever - should I seek help?

31 y/o male no med Hx nkda C/o abd pain x3 days that comes and goes pain is mid lower and also to rlq does not radiate, negative n/V +diarrhea watery yellow, fever spikes of 101.5 but today no spikes... Appetite is ok should I seek er help? Or is it just a virus and it will eventually go away on its own? I just have poor income and no health insurance and don't want to add an extra bill


There are a few different possible causes to your symptoms. I would suggest that you schedule an appointment with a gastroenterologist. You mentioned a virus which is definitely a possibility as long as these symptoms are new and only occur for about a few days to a week. Viral gastroenteritis is a viral infection of the G.I. tract that causes diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever. It usually also causes nausea and vomiting though that is not a symptom that you have. If your symptoms continue on then there are other possible causes that should be looked into. One possible cause is that you have an inflammatory bowel disease that is just showing its face now. An inflammatory bowel disease is a condition that occurs when the immune system recognizes the colon and small intestine as foreign bodies. When the immune system attacks the wall of the colon it can cause diarrhea and fever along with abdominal pain. Sometimes the diarrhea is bloody. This is a type of condition that comes and goes and has a wide range of severity. Again, I would suggest that you schedule an appointment with a gastroenterologist. This is a specialist that will be able to perform a detailed workup for your diarrhea and abdominal pain. Here she might start off with stool studies which can help determine if there is an infectious cause and then later a colonoscopy if an inflammatory bowel disease is considered.

