Stomach cramps and diarrhoea can be a painful, unpleasant duo with a number of different causes.
These issues may stem from food poisoning or a tummy bug. They can also result from a longer-term condition, like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
The best way to treat these symptoms will depend on their cause. Treatments can range from prescription medications to stress relief techniques, dietary changes and probiotic supplements.
If your stomach cramps and diarrhoea are very severe, if your tummy hurts when you touch it, or if there’s blood in your poo, it’s important to seek medical attention.
Causes and treatments
The following health conditions can cause stomach cramps and diarrhoea, either in the short term or on a recurring basis.
We’ll also describe what to look out for and which treatments can help.
1. Gastroenteritis
If your stomach cramps and diarrhoea have started up suddenly – and you don’t experience them regularly – they probably result from a tummy bug, also known as gastroenteritis.
Gastroenteritis is caused by an infection, which may stem from food poisoning or coming into contact with someone who already has gastroenteritis.
Causes of the infection can include:
-
norovirus
- rotavirus, most common in children
-
Campylobacter bacteria, most often responsible for food poisoning
-
Salmonella bacteria
-
Escherichia coli, or E. coli, bacteria
-
Listeria bacteria
The issue may also stem from giardiasis, an infection caused by the Giardia duodenalis parasite.
Gastroenteritis generally lasts for less than 1 week, but it can continue for up to 14 days.
It usually clears up without treatment, but here are ways to look after yourself while you’re ill:
-
Drink plenty of fluids.
-
Try rehydration sachets from the chemist.
-
Get plenty of rest.
-
Consider pain-relief, anti-diarrhoea or anti-sickness medications.
-
If you feel like eating, stick to small amounts of plain foods.
You can reduce your risk of getting food poisoning or a tummy bug by washing your hands regularly and having good hygiene practices around food.
2. Food intolerances
A food intolerance means trouble digesting a specific food or ingredient.
Stomach cramps and diarrhoea are common symptoms, and you may also experience bloating or excess gas.
You’ll usually notice these symptoms within a few hours of consuming the food or drink in question.
The most common intolerance is to lactose, a sugar in dairy products, such as milk, yoghurt and cheese.
Other food intolerances include:
-
histamine, in cheese, wine and fermented foods like sauerkraut
-
caffeine, in coffee, certain teas and some fizzy drinks
-
alcohol and sulphites, in beer, cider and wine
-
salicylates, in some fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices
-
monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavour-enhancer in many processed foods
Keeping a food and symptom diary can help you identify what might be causing your symptoms.
The best way to prevent your symptoms is to avoid or limit your intake of the triggering foods and drinks. A doctor or dietitian can help you do this in a healthy way.
3. IBS
If you regularly have bouts of stomach cramps and diarrhoea, especially after eating, you may have IBS.
It can cause a sudden need to poo, and going to the toilet will usually relieve your pain for a while.
IBS can also cause other digestive issues, like bloating and constipation.
Scientists still aren’t sure of the exact causes, but IBS is often linked to childhood or adulthood stress or trauma, a previous gut infection, or antibiotic use. IBS tends to develop in members of the same family.
Here are some of the foods, drinks and ingredients that may trigger IBS symptoms:
-
spicy foods
-
fatty foods
-
caffeine
-
alcohol
-
certain FODMAPs, including sorbitol
You may also have heard of a FODMAP intolerance. FODMAPs are fermentable compounds in a variety of foods.
As well as lactose, they include the fruit sugar fructose and sugar alcohols, like sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol. Manufacturers often add these to products like mints and chewing gum.
For some people, FODMAPs are why certain foods cause symptoms like stomach cramps and diarrhoea. Keeping a food and symptom diary can help you tell whether particular foods are triggering your symptoms.
If you have IBS, avoiding your triggers can help you manage the symptoms. Your doctor or a dietician may recommend trying a low-FODMAP diet.
Other strategies that may improve IBS symptoms include:
-
managing stress
-
getting plenty of exercise
-
getting enough sleep
-
trying probiotic supplements
We’ll look at the possible benefits of taking probiotics for IBS in more detail later on.
4. Coeliac disease
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition. It causes your immune system to mistakenly attack and damage tissues on the surface of your gut.
The reaction is triggered when you eat foods containing gluten. These foods may be breads, pastas, cakes, breakfast cereals and other products containing wheat, rye or barley.
Symptoms of coeliac disease include diarrhoea and a stomach-ache, as well as other digestive issues, fatigue and skin rashes.
To see if you have coeliac disease, a doctor will give you a blood test. They may then need a biopsy – small samples of your gut tissue.
The only way to manage the condition is by following a strict gluten-free diet. The most common reason for ongoing gut symptoms is not sticking to this diet.
If you have coeliac disease, straying from this diet is also linked with autoimmune disorders and an increased risk of gut-related cancers.
5. IBD
IBD also causes your immune system to attack your gut, and this can lead to diarrhoea and stomach pain. You may also have blood or mucus in your poo, and you may feel tired all the time and lose weight.
There are several types of IBD, but the most common are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Experts don’t know what causes IBD, but you’re more at risk if someone in your immediate family has it and you’ve taken antibiotics frequently.
Treating IBD may involve taking medications, such as steroids, to manage the symptoms. If the symptoms are more severe, your doctor may recommend surgery.
6. Stress and anxiety
Your gut and your brain are connected by a series of pathways known as the gut–brain axis.
This is why you might run to the loo before a big work presentation or feel your gut clenching during a horror film.
But stress and anxiety don’t just happen in the moment, they can be ongoing – which can mean recurring bouts of digestive issues, like diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
The good news is that taking steps to reduce stress could also reduce these symptoms.
Getting enough exercise, practicing relaxation techniques like meditation and yoga, and exploring talking therapies could all help.
We’ll look at these options in a bit more detail towards the end of this article.
Is paracetamol good for stomach pain and diarrhoea?
If you have stomach pain from a short-term illness like gastroenteritis, you may want to take pain-relief medication.
The NHS recommends paracetamol as a good way to treat stomach pain and a better choice than ibuprofen.
Although paracetamol may ease any pain from diarrhoea, it won’t treat the problem itself. For relief from occasional diarrhoea, you can take over-the-counter medicines like loperamide, known by the brand name Imodium.
When to seek medical attention
Stomach cramps and diarrhoea often result from a tummy bug that will clear up on its own, a condition such as IBS or a food intolerance.
But you may have additional symptoms that require medical care.
Seek immediate medical attention if:
-
You have sudden or very severe stomach pain.
-
Your tummy hurts when you touch it.
-
Your poo is an unusual colour, such as grey, black or yellow.
-
There’s blood in your poo.
-
You’re bleeding from your bottom.
See your doctor if:
-
Your diarrhoea lasts longer than 1 week.
-
Your stomach pain won’t go away or keeps coming back.
-
Your pain gets much worse quickly.
-
You have trouble swallowing food.
-
There’s blood or clear slime in your poo.
-
You’re losing a lot of weight without trying.
Lifestyle changes for long-term relief
If you have continuing digestive issues, including stomach cramps and diarrhoea, and your doctor has ruled out serious medical conditions, certain lifestyle strategies could help.
1. Eat the right types of fibre
Eating plenty of fibre is generally a good way to improve your gut health. But for people with IBS who are prone to diarrhoea and stomach cramps, things can be a bit more complicated.
Certain types of fibre are FODMAPs. These can trigger symptoms if you have IBS.
If you think you might be intolerant to some FODMAPs, seek support from a dietitian, who can help guide you through the low-FODMAP diet. It’s important that you don’t try this diet without supervision.
2. Try probiotics
Your gut microbiome is the community of microorganisms that live in your gut.
Having a diverse gut microbiome that includes lots of friendly bacteria means having better gut health and overall health.
Probiotics are live, friendly bacteria and other microbes that can benefit your health when you consume the right amounts.
Plenty of good-quality scientific evidence demonstrates that probiotics can help relieve symptoms – including diarrhoea and abdominal pain – for some people who have IBS.
If you want to give probiotics a try, UK medical guidelines recommend doing so for at least 4–12 weeks. This gives your gut time to adjust to the new microbes and other bacteria.
You can learn which probiotics are likely to help with IBS symptoms in this article.
3. Manage stress
As we’ve seen, there are strong links between stress and digestive issues, including IBS symptoms like diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
By finding ways to reduce stress, you could help improve your digestive symptoms. Here are some options:
-
Exercise: Studies have shown that getting regular exercise is a great way to reduce stress. This means having regular breaks from thinking about issues that are causing anxiety – or regular opportunities to process them.
-
Mindfulness and relaxation techniques: Yoga, meditation and deep breathing exercises can lower your levels of the stress hormone cortisol. But anything that helps you relax, from taking a bath to listening to music, can reduce stress.
-
Talking it through: It can help to speak with a friend, colleague or family member who understands the issue. And talking therapies, like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), have been shown to reduce digestive symptoms in people with IBS.
Summary
Short-term bouts of stomach cramps and diarrhoea are usually caused by gastroenteritis, which results from food poisoning or a tummy bug. In this case, it’s important to stay hydrated and get plenty of rest.
Other possible causes of stomach cramps and diarrhoea include:
-
IBS
-
coeliac disease
-
a form of IBD, such as Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis
-
stress and anxiety
A combination of diet and lifestyle changes, medications and stress management techniques can help with many of these issues. If you have IBS, probiotic supplements may also help.
If your stomach pain or diarrhoea is very severe, if either has lasted longer than a week or keeps coming back, you should see a doctor.
To learn more about other gut health topics, visit Symprove’s Gut Hub.
Sources
A healthy gastrointestinal microbiome is dependent on dietary diversity. Molecular Metabolism. (2016). Link.
Antibiotic use as a risk factor for inflammatory bowel disease across the ages: A population-based cohort study. Gut. (2023). Link.
British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines on the management of irritable bowel syndrome. Gut. (2021). Link.
Diet, lifestyle and medicines – irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). (2021). Link.
Effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing for reducing physiological and psychological stress in adults: A quantitative systematic review. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports. (2019). Link.
Efficacy of psychological therapies for irritable bowel syndrome: Systematic review and network meta-analysis. Neurogastroenterology. (2020). Link.
Fermentable foods: Trouble in your diet. (2015). Link.
Fibre: For everyone? (n.d.). Link.
Food intolerance. (2022). Link.
Food poisoning. (2025). Link.
Gastroenteritis. (2024). Link.
Histamine intolerance and dietary management: A complete review. Allergologia et Immunopathologia. (2016). Link.
Inflammatory bowel disease. (2023). Link.
Irritable bowel syndrome in adults: Diagnosis and management. (2017). Link.
Lactobacillus plantarum CCFM8610 alleviates irritable bowel syndrome and prevents gut microbiota dysbiosis: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, pilot clinical trial. Engineering. (2021). Link.
Loperamide (Imodium). (n.d.). Link.
Neurotransmitters: The critical modulators regulating gut-brain axis. Journal of Cellular Physiology. (2018). Link.
Overview – coeliac disease. (2023). Link.
Soluble and insoluble fiber. (n.d.). Link.
Stomach ache and abdominal pain. (2023). Link.
Stomach ache and abdominal pain. (n.d.). Link.
Symptoms – irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). (2021). Link.
Systematic review: Probiotics in the management of lower gastrointestinal symptoms – an updated evidence‐based international consensus. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. (2018). Link.
The gut-brain axis: Interactions between enteric microbiota, central and enteric nervous systems. Annals of Gastroenterology. (2015). Link.
The protective role of exercise on stress system dysregulation and comorbidities. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. (2006). Link.
Treatment for irritable bowel syndrome. (2017). Link.
