Summary
A cold sensation in the stomach is a common occurrence among people of all ages. This sensation occurs even when the victim has not eaten or drunk something cold. Zimlich (2021) notes that such cold sensations signal the presence of other underlying conditions including gastroenteritis, bacterial or viral infections, kidney stones, and pancreatitis. She explains that heat receptors in the lining of the stomach send signals to the autonomic nervous system, thereby causing a subtle feeling of extreme cold to the brain. She concludes that the cold sensation is a reliable indicator of other underlying medical conditions that require immediate medical attention.
Significance
The article is significant due to four main reasons. Firstly, a cold sensation in the stomach is often ignored by most patients especially when it carries no pain. They assume that the condition is temporary and will fade with time. Secondly, the disease is often a condition of one or more underlying conditions that the patient could be suffering from. Notably, the patient could have one of five main diseases that require immediate treatment. Thirdly, problems in the gastrointestinal tract compromise the body’s ability to digest food and absorb nutrients. This limitation weakens the body’s immunity especially for patients with pre-existing conditions, thereby exposing it to additional infections. Finally, treating the gastrointestinal tract can result in improvement of other underlying conditions such as nutrient deficiencies and other ailments. Therefore, understanding this condition can help in reducing the body’s susceptibility to other diseases.
Zimlich’s article could have explored the problem further. To start with, it should have offered some supporting statistics on the prevalence of this conditions in the general population. Such statistics help the reader to evaluate his or her susceptibility to the condition, as well as the probability that he is already suffering from the disease. Secondly, the article should have provided some risk factors for the condition. These risk factors refer to the environmental conditions or individual behaviors that predispose people to this disease. Thirdly, the article should have used diagrams to illustrate the particular sections of the body that the cold sensation occurs since most patients might not understand the exact position of their stomach when in a sitting or standing position. Lastly, the article should have offered suggestions of reducing the risk of developing this disease.
Description of the Disease
Many underlying conditions can cause a cold feeling in the stomach. These include gastroenteritis, prostatitis, bacterial or viral infections on the stomach lining, and a slowing abdominal function (Zimlich, 2021). Of the several causes of this condition, gastroenteritis is the most common of them all. Gastroenteritis occurs when the stomach’s lining is inflamed due to bacterial or viral infection (National Health Service, 2021). This infection occurs to people of all ages but it is particularly common among children. In children, the inflammation is usually caused by rotavirus, while in adults it is caused by norovirus or bacterial food poisoning. In all cases, gastroenteritis can spread easily to other people thereby causing an epidemic.
The main symptoms of the disease include diarrhoea and vomiting. The diarrhoea occurs suddenly, often one day after infection. In addition, the patient feels sick and feverish with a constant stomach upset. Occasionally, the patient might experience aching limbs, stomachache, nausea, or headaches for a period not longer than one week. These symptoms usually subside after one week, but could take longer if the condition is serious.
The main diagnostic method is the assessment of the of the patient’s symptoms. Most medical practitioners can diagnose the disease without recommending laboratory tests. However, the doctor might require additional tests if the condition is assessed as serious. This is especially if the patient has blood in their stool, persistent fever, or severe vomiting. These tests are required to determine the exact cause of the condition, which could be a virus or bacteria. In extreme cases, the doctor might recommend medical imaging photos such as CT scans to assess the damage caused to the lining of the stomach.
Two main mechanisms are responsible for the development of acute gastroenteritis. Firstly, the damage to the brush border of the intestine compromises the absorption of food in the stomach, which results in osmotic diarrhoea. The second cause is the release of toxins that attach themselves to the specific enterocyte receptors. These result in the release of chloride ions into the gastrointestinal lining, causing secretory diarrhoea. In both conditions, loss of critical electrolytes results in a sudden weakening of the patients and predisposes them to other infections.
The treatment administered for gastroenteritis depends on the cause. Notably, viral gastroenteritis does not have medical treatment. Rather, the patient should take plenty of fluids and rest to rejuvenate. However, bacterial gastroenteritis requires administration of antibiotics. In both cases, the patient might require oral rehydration salts to replace the electrolytes lost to diarrhoea and vomiting (Brady, 2018). In extreme cases, the patient might require intravenous fluid replacement if the amount lost is large enough. The patient should avoid anti-vomiting or anti-diarrhoea drugs unless recommended by the physician because these medications could keep the infections inside the body.
Most gastroenteritis patients do not proceed to the critical phases that require intravenous fluid replacement. However, children and patients with pre-existing ailments can find their condition deteriorating suddenly to the point of requiring urgent care (Hartman et al., 2019). Such conditions result in severe dehydration, fatigue, increased heart rate, and severe headaches. Nonetheless, these symptoms subside after initial interventions with rehydration salts and antibiotics.
Gastroentrities affects a large proportion of the population. Worldwide, acute gastroenteritis results in 1.34 million deaths annually among children aged below 5 years, with 98% of these fatalities occurring in developing countries (Prescilla, 2019). In the US, children experience 1.3-2.3 instances of diarrhoea each year on average. Overall, acute gastroenteritis accounts for 1.5 million outpatient visits per year in the US, and about 220,000 hospitalizations. Prescilla estimates the direct costs of treating these patients at $2 billion per year.
Recent advances in clinical research give a positive outlook for the accurate diagnosis and treatment of gastroenteritis. Malik et al. (2019) observe that use of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), Polymerase Spiral Reaction (PSR), and next generation sequencing have helped in developing accurate diagnosis for infectious strains of the disease-causing microorganisms. Further, the development of non-essential target inhibitors makes it possible to treat resistant bacterial that are responsible for acute and persistent infections (Annunziato, 2019). Therefore, these advances in the accurate diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal infections could reduce the negative impact on the public healthcare system both locally and around the globe.
References
Annunziato, G. (2019). Strategies to overcome antimicrobial resistance making use of non-essential target inhibitors: A review. International Journal of Molecular Science, 20(23), 1-25.
Brady, K. (2018). Acute gastroenteritis: Evidence-based management of pediatric patients. Paediatrics Emergency Medicine Practice, 15(2),1-24.
Hartman, S., Brown, E., Loomis, E., Russell, H.A. (2019). Gastroenteritis in children. American Family Physician, 99(3), 159-165.
Malik, Y., Verma, A.K., Kumar, N., Toiul, N., Karthik, K., Tiwari, R., Bora, R., Dhama, K., Ghosh, S., Hemida, M., Abdel-Moneim, A., Banyai, K., Vlasolva, A., Kobayashi, N., & Singh, R. (2019). Advances in diagnostic approaches for viral etiologies of diarrhea: From the lab to the field. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10, 1-18.
National Health Service. (2021). Gastroenteritis. NHS Website.
Prescilla, R.P. (2018). Epidemiology of pediatric gastroenteritis. Medscape.
Zimlich, R. (2021). What can make your stomach feel cold, and should you see a doctor?Healthline.