Dear doctor;

I have noticed that many times when I eat certain food stuff, especially dough nuts, my navel pains a lot. Last week, I ate some chips and for the next six hours or so, I suffered excruciating pain in the navel. What could be causing these onsets of pain? Jamil, 29.

Dear Jamil,

Is the pain like fire or with cramp-like sensation? Is it continuous or intermittent, is there any associated constipation or diarrhoea? These questions can help to understand the cause of the pain.

Most likely this pain could be due to dyspepsia (indigestion). At times if one eats some food in quantity greater than the ability of the stomach to digest, there can be pain and discomfort around the umbilicus as this is where small bowels are located.

This may be associated with feeling of bloating of abdomen and or burping, nausea or vomiting.

If the bowels are not cleared regularly, there can be pain and discomfort. Fatty foods like chips precipitate pain in such situations because they are hard to digest unlike high fibre foods like green vegetables. Alcohol can also induce and aggravate such pain

Protozoal infections of the bowels like amoeabiasis, Giardiasis, etc, can cause cramp-like colicky pain in the abdomen. Viral or bacterial infections can cause this kind of pain but would be associated with diarrhoea or flu like symptoms. Occasional pain around belly button can be due to allergy to certain kinds of foods or the ingredients used for cooking. In this case, pain would occur repeatedly after taking that food item.

Inflammation of the pancreas due to chronic intake of alcohol or viral infections can manifest as pain upper abdomen or around umbilicus.

It is advisable to take more of green vegetables in food, avoid alcohol. If the pain is recurrent or severe, get a stool sample examined for infection.