COVID-19 Symptoms: Experiencing Stomach Ache Could Be A Sign Of Coronavirus Infection

The cases of coronavirus have increased exponentially with health experts warning everyone that they may see a massive increase in infections and deaths during the following weeks. The deadly virus has left a trail of devastation in its wake with data showing how deadly and serious this pathogen really is.

As COVID-19 continues to ravage communities in many countries around the world, government officials kept on warning the public about the onset of high temperature and dry cough. There are hospitals in the UK and United States; however, that has reported seeing a new symptom being manifested by many COVID-19 patients. According to them, feeling stomach pain may be a symptom of a COVID-19 infection, and patients need to be vigilant if they are starting to feel such.

More COVID-19 Patients Having Stomach Pains

Dr. Michael Hirsh revealed that hospitals in the US are now starting to see patients who tested positive for COVID-19 also display symptoms of only stomach pain. Dr. Hirsh is the Director of Public Health for Worcester in Massachusetts. He said these patients said they experienced abdominal pain just before they developed other known COVID-19 symptoms like shortness of breath, fever, and cough.

A recent study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology showed that people might have digestive problems to signal an infection. Such digestive issues include diarrhea. Researchers of the study examined data from 204 patients in Hubei province in China who have been infected with COVID-19. They found that an overwhelming 48.5% of the patients admitted to a hospital were suffering from digestive problems. These problems ranged from abdominal pain, diarrhea, or vomiting.

Expert Opinion

Dr. Hirsh said that most hospitals in the United States have been receiving patients not so much with complaints about respiratory problems but stomach issues. According to Dr. Hirsh, the pain they felt in their stomach may have been the result of the development of pneumonia in their lungs’ lower lobes. If these lobes are often inflamed, the irritation in their diaphragm will cause discomfort and pain in their abdomen.

In fact, there are cases where patients do not even feel the major symptoms but instead, experience only the lesser-known ones like stomach pain. Dr. Hirsh also said that the more they get to know the disease, the more they will be likely to see symptoms that do not fit the usual warnings like fever or a dry hacking cough.