Being diagnosed with a hernia anywhere is annoying at best, but it's even more annoying when the hernia suddenly flares up for what seems to be no reason. Of course, there is always a reason, and the cause of your new pain could be something very simple. What you eat, what you do, and what you're exposed to can all cause a flare-up.
Caffeine
Caffeine and a related substance, theobromine, can cause flare-ups of a number of painful conditions. The Daily Mail noted in 2008 that caffeine- and theobromine-containing products like coffee and chocolate could aggravate hernia pain in the abdomen because they can lead to excessive acid production. If you drink a lot of coffee or tea, see if a decaffeinated version is acceptable to you. As for chocolate, you may have to do some experimenting to find the right amount to eat if you absolutely can't give it up, but even that experimenting could lead to pain. It's better to talk to your doctor about how to find a balance between the desire for chocolate and the desire to avoid pain.
Cold Weather
You'll often hear anecdotes about how cold can aggravate a painful condition like an old joint injury, and the same may be true for hernias. There's a secondary condition called cold allodynia, which is not hernia-specific, in which a painful condition you have can feel even worse when it's cold out. There really isn't a way to prevent this other than by either not getting cold (good luck in winter) or finally getting the hernia treated.
Certain Exercises
Sorry—you can still exercise with a hernia, so you can't use that as an excuse to skip going to the gym. But certain exercises can aggravate the hernia by placing undue stress on the area. For example, if you have a hiatal hernia (a hernia at the stomach/diaphragm junction), exercises that place stress on the abdomen can be difficult to do without pain. If you find that your hernia is interfering with your ability to do crunches or strength train using your abdominal muscles, talk to your doctor about ways to work around that or whether it's finally time for a treatment like surgery.
Sometimes hernia pain is mild and short, and you can live with it as long as your doctor hasn't identified anything requiring more intense treatment. But if your pain is getting worse, is already severe, or if you're just tired of having that pain, talk to a doctor (like those at Natural Tissue Hernia Repair Associates) and see what options you have for finally healing the hernia.
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