Many conditions, lifestyle choices, medicines, and diseases interfere with your ability to heal or fight infection. You may be at risk for a more serious problem from your symptoms if you have any of the following. Be sure to tell your health professional.
Conditions
- Are pregnant
- Are older than age 60
- History of ectopic pregnancy
- Previous abdominal surgery
- Family history of abdominal problems
Lifestyle choices
- Alcohol abuse or withdrawal
- Drug abuse or withdrawal
- Tobacco use
Medicines
- Corticosteroids, such as prednisone
- Medicines to prevent organ transplant rejection
- Medicines used to treat cancer (chemotherapy)
- Radiation therapy
Diseases
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Blood vessel disease (vascular disease)
- Bowel obstruction
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Diverticulosis
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Endometriosis
- Gallbladder disease
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Gastrointestinal bleeding
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
- Inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Ischemic bowel disease
- Kidney disease
- Kidney stone
- Liver disease
- Pancreatitis
- Pelvic inflammatory disease
- Peptic ulcer disease
- Sickle cell disease
- Stomach ulcers
Credits
| Author | Jan Nissl, RN, BS |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Jerome B. Simon, MD, FRCPC, FACP - Gastroenterology |
| Last Updated | February 15, 2007 |
Author:Jan Nissl, RN, BS
Last Updated: 02/15/2007
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