We have all been there: the cramping, the nausea, the regret over that questionable sushi. Most of the time, we tough it out with ginger ale and a bucket, assuming it is just a “24-hour bug.” However, Atlanta ER doctors are reporting a rise in patients arriving too late with conditions that mimic a stomach bug but are actually life-threatening emergencies. The danger lies in the assumption that stomach pain is always benign. Your abdomen houses your appendix, gallbladder, pancreas, and intestines; when one of them fails, time is tissue. Knowing when to stop waiting and start driving to the ER is a critical life skill.
