Our bodies are mainly made of water, and we need to drink plenty of it to stay hydrated. It’s crucial for keeping our bodies working properly. Everything from ensuring our organs get the oxygen and nutrients they need to flushing toxins out of our bodies depends on taking in enough fluids. Depending on age, gender, activity levels, and other factors, we generally need to drink anywhere from 64 to over 100 ounces of water per day to stay healthy.
That’s a lot easier said than done for many people, though, especially if drinking water causes stomach pain. Water is neutral. It doesn’t contain high levels of acid the way sodas, coffee, tea, and juices do. Unlike food, it doesn’t need to be digested; it simply absorbs into our bodies. With all that being the case, you’d think it shouldn’t cause any discomfort. That’s not always the case, though. If you experience stomach pain after drinking water, it could be due to the following issues.
Temperature Sensitivity
One common cause of stomach pain when drinking water is temperature sensitivity. You may have noticed that if you swallow a particularly hot bite of food or mouthful of coffee, it temporarily causes pain at the top of your stomach. That can also happen with extremely cold foods and beverages. Drinking very cold water, especially if you guzzle it, can cause your stomach muscles to suddenly tense up, and that hurts. Drinking water that’s closer to room temperature and taking it slowly can help prevent the pain.
Drinking Too Much Water at Once
Drinking too much water at once can cause stomach pain as well. Your stomach can only comfortably hold so much at any given time. Overfilling it can certainly cause discomfort, even if it’s just water. Drinking large volumes of water too quickly stretches the stomach, and it can cause excess pressure and bloating. You may even inadvertently swallow a lot of air while you’re gulping your water, which can make the problem even worse.
Drinking a Lot of Water Before or After Eating
At the same time, drinking a lot of water immediately before or after eating can lead to stomach pain. It may dilute your stomach acid, which can prevent your body from digesting food properly. That, in turn, may leave you with bloating or a heavy, painful feeling in your stomach. Along those same lines, if you suffer from acid reflux, drinking large volumes of water too quickly can push stomach acid into your esophagus, which may cause pressure, burning, and pain.
Stomach Inflammation
In some cases, already having inflammation in your stomach can cause the pain to worsen after drinking water. Conditions like gastritis, stomach ulcers, IBS, and H. pylori infections are a few examples here. They make the stomach lining more sensitive, so anything that touches it will cause discomfort, even water.
Combating Stomach Pain After Drinking Water
For most people, preventing stomach pain when drinking water is a simple matter of slowing down or making temperature adjustments. Avoiding drinking a lot of water just before or after meals can help as well. If it’s an ongoing problem and those measures don’t seem to help, an underlying medical condition could be to blame. Seeing a doctor to determine the cause and address it can help make drinking water less painful.