Lorena asked
My stomach has been hurting so bad lately and having really bad cramps
Soso answered
If your tummy pain and cramps are really bad, the most important thing to do right now is tell a grown-up so they can help work out what is going on. Cramps can happen with periods, but severe pain is not something you just have to deal with on your own.
What period cramps are
Period cramps happen because the uterus is a muscle, and it squeezes to push out its lining. Stronger squeezes are what hurt. Sometimes feeling a bit sick can come with period cramps too. There are medicines that help period pain, and a grown-up decides if you take one, which one and how much, for your age and weight. They tend to work best when a grown-up gives them as soon as the cramps start (or a day or two before, if your periods come regularly) and keeps them going for the first two or three days. A heat pad, or a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel that a grown-up fills, can help too, and in a few small studies heat worked about as well as medicine.
When to tell a grown-up
Tell a grown-up if the pain stops you doing normal things like school, doesn't get better with the pain relief a grown-up gives you, or keeps getting worse from one period to the next.
Tell a grown-up straight away if you're being sick, can't eat, have a fever, the pain is on one side (especially low on the right) or keeps getting worse, or you have tummy pain and feel sick without a period.
If you have already started having periods, you can keep track of days when you feel crampy using the Soso app to see if there is a pattern.
Soso's answers are written by AI. They don't replace professional medical advice.