8 Types of Pain You Shouldn’t Ignore
The ability to withstand pain can vary significantly within people, but there are cases where it’s simply never a good idea to bear the pain rather than treat it.
If you find yourself experiencing any of the following conditions, please alert your doctor immediately:
1. Severe Abdominal Pain
There are several non-threatening reasons why someone might experience abdominal pain. For example, simple stomach discomfort stemming from bad food or gas is a common occurrence.
However, severe abdominal pain can be serious.
Intense pain centrally located in the lower right quadrant of the abdomen could be a critical condition like appendicitis or acute pancreatitis. Appendix surgery is a standard and low-risk procedure, but if left untreated, a burst appendix can rapidly devolve into a life-threatening situation.
If the pain is recurring, then you’re likely looking at a condition that needs treatment like gallstones.
2. Serious Headaches
Most people have experienced a migraine at some point in their life and can thus identify the symptoms of one, like sensitivity to lights and sound. However, confusing a more dangerous sort of headache for a migraine is still a common occurrence.
Wherever you get a severe headache, you should be on the lookout for uncommon symptoms that might be a cause for concern — it might help identify if you’re at risk of suffering a brain aneurysm, stroke, or carbon monoxide poisoning, etc.
In fact, if you suffer a powerful headache but don’t experience any of the anticipatory symptoms of a migraine, call your primary doctor and let them know of the situation, as they will want to rule out any possible life-threatening conditions.
Also see: What’s the Difference Between Migraines &.Cluster Headaches?
3. Lower Back Pain
Back pain can be from something as simple as sleeping wrong. Other times, it’s a sign of a deeper issue.
A fever coupled with pain and tenderness in the area spreading from your lower back to between your ribs and hip could indicate a kidney infection. If this is the case, contact your doctor immediately so they can start you on antibiotics. Kidney infections can become life-threatening if left untreated.
4. Chest Pains
Most people intuitively know they shouldn’t ignore chest pains, but it is worth repeating. Chest pains can be caused by anything from indigestion to life-threatening heart-related issues like cardiac arrest. Women are more likely than men to ignore chest pains as they suffer from heart attacks less.
Chest pains related to heart conditions usually cause discomfort in the center of the left side of the chest and can feel like someone is squeezing across your chest. They typically last for a few minutes but can come back multiple times. Other symptoms include feeling weak, lightheaded, uncomfortable pressure, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and pain in one arm.
5. Pain In One Calf or Thigh
It is not uncommon for extended bouts of inactivity — coupled with our largely sedentary lifestyles — to form a blood clot in a calf or thigh. This condition is known as deep vein thrombosis and can cause many serious problems.
Deep vein thrombosis usually starts small and causes no immediately noticeable symptoms. However, as it grows, it begins to cause pain and tenderness around the affected area. The pain tends to increase with time.
If you feel a noticeable bulge causing pain in a calf or thigh, you might have a blood clot. This situation would require urgent medical attention. The blood clot could break loose and cause a whole host of other, more deadly, problems like blocking your lungs or even preventing your brain from receiving oxygen.
6. Intense Pain in Your Big Toe
Intense, searing pain in your big toe could likely mean that you are suffering from gout, one of the most painful forms of arthritis. This condition comes from a buildup of uric acid crystals, usually as a byproduct of certain foods like red meat, alcohol, candy, soft drinks, and products with high-fructose corn syrup.
If your diet contains many of these items and you feel intense pain in your big toe, contact your doctor immediately. Untreated gout can spread to other joints and raise the risk of other conditions like kidney stones and kidney failure.
7. Painful Urination
Painful urination is often a symptom of a bladder infection, but it can also be because of a sexually transmitted disease (STD) like gonorrhea. This applies more to men as women can have other reasons for painful urination that have nothing to do with STDs.
You should contact your doctor and schedule an STD exam if you are suffering from painful urination. You need to know if you have contracted an STD as soon as possible so as to avoid spreading it and get the proper treatment. These days, antibiotics cure many STDs, but if left untreated, they can become life-threatening and cause several conditions like fertility loss.
8. Medication-Resistant Menstrual Cramps
Menstrual cramps that are consistent and unresponsive to treatment can signify the presence of other gynecologic conditions such as noncancerous uterine tumors or endometriosis, a disorder in which tissue normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus. However, it can also signify the presence of more serious conditions like ovarian cancer or an STD.
In this situation, women must contact their gynecologist to find out what may be the cause of the menstrual cramps.
Using Kratom to Deal With Pain
One of kratom’s significant benefits is it acts as an effective and all-natural analgesic. The kratom community is absolutely filled with people who have abandoned their much more dangerous pharmaceutical painkillers in favor of a safer, natural alternative like kratom.
If you’re currently experiencing pain, then consider trying out kratom as a treatment. Don’t believe the propaganda against kratom. When used responsibly, there’s very little to fear.
However, to get the most effective pain relief possible, you will have to select the right strain of kratom. But don’t worry — that’s why we’re here!
Red strains contain high levels of 7-hydroxymitragynine, one of the primary alkaloids in kratom. It’s an opioid agonist and can be as effective as prescription painkillers. This action makes red strains great for relieving pain and reducing anxiety.
Users usually need a mid-to-high level dose of kratom (5-10 g) to get potent pain relief, though start with smaller amounts (2-5 g) to see if you can get away with less. This helps reduce the chance of side effects.
The best red vein kratom strains for pain relief are:
Final Thoughts: Sometimes You Need A Doctor
So there you have it. You should never attempt to ignore the types of pain described above, as it could lead to a serious problem, and no one wants that!
However, there are many more situations besides the ones we listed in which you should never ignore the pain. The best thing you can do is apply common sense. Generally, if the pain is intense, constant, involves pressure or bruising, is associated with fevers or chills, or decreases your range of motion, you should contact your doctor.
