Bloating and rounding of the stomach: Is it just obesity or a sign of some serious disease?

In this era of hectic life, irregular eating habits and wrong lifestyle, stomach related problems have become common. Sometimes, due to overeating or not eating food at the right time, gas gets formed in the stomach, due to which the stomach starts feeling bloated and heavy. Many people ignore this condition considering it normal or consider it as increasing obesity and start going to the gym and looking for tips to lose weight. But have you ever thought that if your stomach suddenly becomes very round and hard, there is constant heaviness in it, and it does not reduce even after millions of efforts, then there may be a serious physical problem hidden behind it and not just any gas or fat? In the language of medical science, this dangerous condition is called ‘Ascites’, which simply means accumulation of excessive amount of fluid i.e. water inside the stomach. This condition is the first and clearest sign of some major internal disease going on inside the body, which is very important for every person to identify it in time and consult a doctor.

Ascites is basically a medical condition in which abnormally large amount of fluid i.e. water starts accumulating inside the abdominal membrane i.e. the peritoneal cavity. In normal health, there is a limited amount of fluid present between our abdominal organs which protects and lubricates the organs from rubbing against each other. But when there is a serious disturbance in the functioning of the body’s major organs, especially the liver, kidneys or heart, the pressure on the blood vessels increases and water leaks from the veins and accumulates in the abdominal cavity. Gradually this water increases to such an extent that the patient’s stomach swells badly, he starts having difficulty in getting up and sitting, feels difficulty in breathing and the body weight suddenly starts increasing rapidly. This is not an automatic disease, but it is a deep evidence that some internal system of the body is working beyond its capacity and it needs immediate medical help.

According to doctors and health experts, the most important and main reason behind filling of water in the stomach i.e. ascites is serious diseases related to the liver. The top name among these is ‘Liver Cirrhosis’, which occurs due to excessive drinking, hepatitis infection or uncontrolled fatty liver. When the liver starts deteriorating, it stops producing the important protein present in the blood i.e. albumin, which causes blood clotting and imbalance of pressure starts pushing water towards the stomach. Apart from liver diseases, fatal conditions like congestive heart failure, kidney failure, inflammation in the pancreas, or stomach cancer can also give rise to this problem. Many times women complain of watery feeling in the stomach even in the initial stages of ovarian cancer. This is why when a person’s stomach suddenly starts swelling like a balloon and along with it, swelling or weakness is felt in the legs, then it should never be ignored as normal gas or weight gain.

If you want to understand whether your bloated stomach is normal gas or a sign of ascites, then you will have to keep a close eye on the other symptoms accompanying it. In case of water filling in the stomach, the patient feels a sudden huge increase in the size of the stomach, tightening of the stomach skin, bulging of the navel outwards, sudden weight gain, and severe pain or discomfort in the lower part of the stomach. Along with this, many patients also start having swelling on their feet, ankles and face, lose their appetite completely, and start feeling short of breath even after walking a little. If such symptoms persist, then one should immediately contact a good gastroenterologist or general physician and get ultrasound and blood test done. Considering the seriousness of the condition, doctors recommend diuretics, strict abstinence from salt intake and, if necessary, a procedure to remove water from the stomach (paracentesis). Reduce the amount of sodium in your diet, completely abstain from things like alcohol and tobacco and keep getting your health checked regularly so that you can stay safe from this serious problem.