Acute Appendicitis
Acute appendicitis.
Abdominal sensitivity or abdominal pain, in general is considered to be the main symptom of acute appendicitis. However, abdominal pain is a relatively common symptom, and it is thought that only 5% of any abdominal pain is actually a case of appendicitis. Although acute appendicitis is a relatively uncommon condition, it is very serious. To make matters worse, actually successfully diagnosing appendicitis is an ongoing battle that doctors face all the time. Acute appendicitis is actually the ferret leading cause of malpractice suits in America today. Even more frightening is that the misdiagnosis of acute appendicitis is more common in children and infant with abdominal pain. This is often because children and infants have a hard time expressing what type of pain they are feeling. In fact, acute appendicitis misdiagnosis rates range from 28% to 57% for children aged from 2 to 12 and even worse, there is almost 100% misdiagnosis of acute appendicitis in infants.
Many of the acute appendicitis symptoms are very common to other types of illnesses and diseases, and this is why it is potentially difficult to diagnose. There is a list of symptoms that you should be aware of:
- Abdominal pain, near the belly button (early stages)
- Lower right side, abdominal pain (latter stages)
- Abdominal pain with activity
- Abdominal pain when you breathe
- Abdominal pain when you cough
- Abdominal pain when you sneeze
- Tenderness around abdominal area
- Vomiting
- Constipation
- Nausea
- Abdominal swelling
- Low fever
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhea
- Inability to pass wind
The causes of appendicitis are usually through some type of obstruction, which leads to inflammation of the appendix. The most common cause of this obstruction is faeces. If acute appendicitis is not treated swiftly, it can lead to gangrene or even a rupture of the appendix, which is potentially life-threatening.
Treatment for acute appendicitis is usually the removal of the appendix. This is done under general anesthetic by a surgeon, who will generally make a small incision in your lower right abdomen to remove the offending appendix. There is no known use for the appendix as removal makes no difference to the digestive system.
Recovery from acute appendicitis is relatively simple. Ample amounts of bed rest and painkillers would normally be prescribed by the doctor and one needs to make sure that they don't physically exert themselves for at least a period of four to six weeks after surgery.
Quick Tip #1
Pain which starts in the area of the belly button and then slowly moves down to the lower right side of your abdomen is a classic symptom of Appendicitis. Make sure you are aware of these symptoms and contact your doctor if you have any reservations. |
Quick Tip #2
If you are having these symptoms of abdominal pain for more than four hours, then you should seek an urgent medical evaluation at your doctors office immediately or you should go to your hospitals emergency department straight away |
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