Have a reocurring (almost always there) pain in lower left abdomen

Many different conditions can cause abdominal pain. The key is to know when you must seek medical care right away. In many cases you can simply wait, use home care remedies, and call your doctor at a later time only if the symptoms persist.

Possible causes include:

• Excessive gas
• Chronic constipation
• Lactose intolerance (milk intolerance)
• Viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu)
• Irritable bowel syndrome (sensitive stomach with intermittent episodes of diarrhea and constipation)
• Heartburn or indigestion
• Gastroesophageal reflux
• Ulcers
• Cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder) with or without gallstones
• Appendicitis (inflammation of the appendix)
• Diverticular disease, including inflammation of small pouches that form in the large intestines ( diverticulitis)
• Bowel obstruction -- in addition to pain, this causes nausea, bloating, vomiting, and inability to pass gas or stool
• Food allergy
• Food poisoning (salmonella, shigella)
• Hernia
• Kidney stones
• Urinary tract infections
• Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)
• Intussusception (telescoping intestines) -- while uncommon, this is a serious possible cause of pain in an infant who may be drawing his or knees to the chest and crying to indicate the pain
• Dissecting abdominal aortic aneurysm -- bleeding into the wall of the aorta
• Parasite infections (Giardia)
• Sickle cell crisis
• Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis (two different types of inflammatory bowel disease)