Digestive & Stomach

Passing gas (belching, wind or flatulence) is normal — 10-20 times a day. It becomes a problem when there's too much, when it smells strongly, or when it's painful.

Constipation means infrequent, hard, or difficult-to-pass stools. There's no magic number — passing stool 3 times a day or 3 times a week can both be normal for that person.

Haemorrhoids (piles) are swollen blood vessels in and around the anus. They are extremely common — most Indian adults have some degree at some point.

Jaundice is yellowing of the eyes, skin and sometimes nails and mouth, from a build-up of bilirubin — a yellow pigment made when old red cells are broken down. It is a symptom, not a disease — the important question is why the bilirubin is rising.

The liver is the body's chemical factory and filter — making proteins, clotting factors, and bile; storing energy; processing medicines, alcohol, and toxins; clearing infections and old cells. Liver disease is common, often silent in early stages, and can be caused by viruses, alcohol, obesity, medicines, or genetic disorders.

Diarrhoea is loose or watery stools 3 or more times a day. Most acute diarrhoea is from a virus or contaminated food/water and settles in a few days.

Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix — a small finger-shaped pouch off the large intestine. Without treatment, it can rupture, causing a serious infection in the belly.

A hernia is a bulge where an organ or tissue (often a loop of intestine) pushes through a weak spot in the muscle wall that normally holds it in. Most hernias are in the abdominal wall and groin.

A peptic ulcer is a break in the lining of the stomach (gastric ulcer) or the first part of the small intestine (duodenal ulcer). Most are caused by Helicobacter pylori infection or by long-term use of NSAID painkillers.

GERD (gastro-oesophageal reflux disease) is when stomach acid regularly backs up into the oesophagus (food pipe), causing heartburn and other symptoms. Occasional heartburn is normal; GERD is when symptoms are frequent (more than twice a week) or start to affect life.

Cirrhosis is late-stage scarring of the liver. Repeated liver injury replaces healthy tissue with scar tissue, and the liver slowly loses function.

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory condition of the digestive tract. It can affect any part from mouth to anus, but most often the end of the small intestine and the colon.