Contents
5 myths about appendicitis. Should you be afraid?
Frightened since childhood, we are afraid to miss an attack of appendicitis and cause its exacerbation by any careless actions. After all, this disease has overgrown with an incredible number of myths and occupies a leading position among abdominal diseases. Statistics say about 4-5 cases of diagnosis of the disease per thousand people per year. Agree, there is something to shudder.
Myths for the readers of Wday.ru were dispelled by Pyotr Ershov, a surgeon at a clinical emergency hospital.
Recently, scientists, based on their research, claim that the appendix is an important element of the immune system, because it protects our intestines from food allergies and various inflammatory processes.
Inflammation of the appendix is due solely to the following factors and no others: 1) reduced immunity; 2) worms trapped in the process from the intestines; and 3) accidentally swallowed debris.
Myth 1. Seeds are to blame for everything.
In fact, sunflower seeds are a storehouse of food components necessary for a person, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, magnesium and vitamin E. Peeled seeds are easily absorbed by the body, but the husk is not digested by it.
There are real stories of people who claim that it was the “glass of seeds” that became the red button that triggered the inflammation of the appendix. Doctors, however, say that in all patients, the body responds to this cause in its own way, so it is better to play it safe and do not swallow the peel with bones.
Myth 2. It is better to delete beforehand
In order not to worry all their lives about whether appendicitis will become inflamed, many want to remove it in advance, so to speak, to prevent the disease. However, this practice is not encouraged by doctors – and not at all because of harm, but solely for medical reasons.
It is possible to remove the appendix only after inflammation, otherwise serious negative consequences as a result of untimely intervention are practically guaranteed.
Both young and old can fight this ailment, so the belief that the appendix becomes inflamed only in childhood and adolescence is fundamentally wrong.
A sufficient number of patients got on the operating table at a fairly mature age. Therefore, you do not need to believe that if you were carried away in childhood, then there is nothing more to be afraid of, you do not need: the cause of inflammation is not age, but other criteria.
Most likely, this myth was born because young children more often than other ages swallow parts from toys, hair, chewing gum, bones, and therefore are more susceptible to disease than others.
Myth 4. Heal cannot be cut
Patients with severe pain, who caused an ambulance, do not even consider the option of conservative treatment, confident that only surgery can save them from pain shock.
There are positive examples of antibiotic treatment for appendix inflammation. Naturally, this process takes place under the supervision of a doctor, since the drugs are administered intravenously.
The treatment regimen is simple: the patient takes 2 antibiotics for 2 days. The first is injected into a vein every 12 hours, and the second is injected there every 8 hours. After that, for another 7 days, the third antibiotic should be taken, but already in tablet form. The treatment regimen can be adjusted and is unique for each clinical case.
Thus, the inflammation is stopped without surgical intervention.
However, in no case can you use folk remedies at the time of inflammation. Even if they once helped your great-great-grandmother, it is not at all necessary that they will help you. But ointments and creams can help the quick healing of the scar. However, they can only be used after removing the stitches.
Myth 5. Meat is an appendicitis provocateur
Proponents of this theory argue that only plant-based food guarantees health to all of us, and the love of meat, on the contrary, will not lead to anything good.
Here, of course, the principle “everything is good in moderation” works, and you should not completely abandon a varied diet just for fear of “earning” appendicitis, but introduce days of unloading the body into the diet.
Be healthy!