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Often, the first signs of inflammation of appendicitis are confused with a wide variety of attacks in approximately the same area: food poisoning, renal colic, indigestion, etc. The doctor can remove the appendix very quickly and accurately, however, with timely treatment, but this requires confirmation of the diagnosis. In order to recognize all the signs of the onset of inflammation of the appendix in time and contact a medical facility for the necessary examination in time, you need to know certain features of appendicitis.
It is very important not to confuse the pain associated with appendicitis with the same menstruation, poisoning, colic, or other diseases that have similar symptoms.
Main symptoms
The first thing to think about appendicitis can make you feel pain in the abdomen. Most often, if this is an inflammation of the appendix, then the pain is localized mainly on the right side or in the navel area. The pain may eventually move from the center of the abdomen to the right and go down, but not reach the border of the pelvic bones. Remember that in pregnant women, appendicitis can change its location depending on the duration of pregnancy, so the pain may be slightly higher.
Try to lie flat on a hard surface and press a little on your stomach in the area of pain. If even with a fairly light pressure you experience a sharp pain in your right side, call an ambulance immediately.
Usually, when you press on the stomach, you should feel that it is soft, the fingers slightly push through the tissues and sink into them. One of the symptoms of appendicitis will be a hard stomach, to some extent even hard. In addition, pay attention to whether swelling is present. Seek medical attention immediately.
Try to stand up and walk straight. At the first signs of inflammation of appendicitis, it is impossible to do this without feeling severe pain. And if you try to “curl up” with your legs tucked up to your chest, the pain can be significantly reduced.
Main features
You should also pay attention to other signs of appendicitis, it is not at all necessary that they will all appear at the same time, just a few are enough to know for sure that it is time to ask for help from doctors:
You should not delay visiting a doctor if you have a very high temperature (38° – 39°). In the event that it is much higher – call an ambulance;
Chills and heavy sweating indicates the presence of inflammation in the body;
Constipation, especially if vomiting is added to it, clearly makes you understand about the inflammation of the appendix;
Diarrhea, especially if there are particles of blood in it, speaks of the same;
nausea or vomiting;
Back pain similar to renal colic;
False urge to defecate.
What exactly should not be done if the question is about a possible inflammation of the appendix:
If, in addition to abdominal pain, you have a high temperature, you should not wait, it is better to call a doctor or an ambulance.
In no case do not take any painkillers or laxatives, this will only aggravate the situation when the diagnosis is made by specialists.
Do not take any stomach or intestinal drugs, they can only cause a strong chemical reaction that will provoke a rupture of the appendix.
Try not to eat until you get medical attention, you may need surgery. This should also be done in order not to cause irritation of the intestinal mucosa, which can exacerbate pain at times.
When do you need to call an ambulance?
If you observe several signs of appendicitis in yourself, especially if they are accompanied by vomiting and severe pain, call an ambulance immediately!
After the doctors come to you, it is very important to accurately describe all your symptoms and signs. Do not disregard any violation that has occurred in the last 2-3 days (it does not matter if it is vomiting or diarrhea). Be sure to notify the doctor about the first pain sensations that you could not help but pay attention to.
Keep in mind that for the reliability of the diagnosis, the doctor needs to fully examine you, including palpating the abdomen, in order to exclude peritonitis from the list of possible diagnoses. If necessary, the doctor may do a rectal examination to confirm or refute appendicitis. With peritonitis, the abdominal muscles will be very tense.
With an implicit or vague diagnosis, additional examinations are often prescribed: urine and blood tests, ultrasound of the pelvic organs, a probe (an instrument in the form of a thin rod designed to carry out diagnostic or therapeutic procedures in various cavities and canals of the human body) and so on.
Some good advice
It should be remembered that in children, the first signs of appendicitis may manifest differently, due to the immaturity of some body systems. In addition, not all children can clearly and distinctly explain where, how and what hurts them. Most often, the child suffers pain, believing that it just hurts the intestines, while he may refuse to eat and really want to sleep. Therefore, if the baby has refused his favorite dish, you should be wary and find out the reason for what worries him. Not all people have the symptoms and signs described above.
The classic symptoms do not appear in people who fall into the following categories:
diabetics;
pregnant women in the 3rd trimester;
obese people;
cancer patients;
HIV-infected;
people who have undergone organ transplants;
elderly age;
Small children.
Diseases with similar symptoms
It is far from always possible to recognize appendicitis at the first examination without additional tests and examinations. This happens only because the primary symptoms of the appendix are very similar to the signs of other diseases that painfully “give” to the same area.
So, here is a small list of such diseases:
inflammation of the ovaries, fallopian tubes or uterus;
pyelonephritis;
renal colic;
Crohn’s disease (also referred to as terminal ileitis);
ulcer and its perforation;
enterocolitis and colitis of varying degrees;
inflammation of the nodes of the small intestine;
inflammation of the testicle;
rupture, sometimes stretching, of the anterior abdominal muscles and more.
Ultrasound of the pelvic organs and the abdominal cavity does not always help to make an accurate diagnosis. This is due to the fact that something can be viewed on the ultrasound machine or simply not seen due to the imperfection of the technique or skills of the specialist. Only laparoscopy can give a 100% result in the diagnosis.
Causes of inflammation of the appendix
Despite the rapid development of medicine in all its fields, it has not yet been possible to fully study all the causes of inflammation of the appendix. Appendicitis is classified as an inflammatory disease that often goes unnoticed and manifests itself suddenly. It is impossible to predict its manifestation.
Inflammation caused by various microorganisms (anaerobes, staphylococci, Escherichia coli, streptococci, etc.) occurs in the appendix of the caecum.
Often the result of inflammation of the appendix is excessive overload of the body with protein foods: frequent overeating and obesity due to overeating. Modern people spend a lot of time sitting at work, and then at home near the computer, such a sedentary lifestyle can also provoke inflammation of appendicitis.
How to avoid appendicitis?
In order to minimize the risk of inflammation of appendicitis, it is very important to maintain proper nutrition. At the same time, try to use only easily digestible proteins in your diet. They are found mainly in a variety of dairy products.
Fresh fruits and vegetables should also be consumed daily. The most useful will be grown in your garden or bought from summer residents. Try not to overeat, always keep track of your calories.
Periodically do fasting days and monitor the health of the gastrointestinal tract, prevent constipation.
Remember, the subsidence of pain, or vice versa, their excessively sharp increase, may indicate the onset of serious complications.
It is very important to know the first signs and symptoms of appendicitis in order to seek help from specialists in time.
At the slightest suspicion of appendicitis, especially in young children, immediately call an ambulance, it is better to make sure once again that this is not inflammation of the appendix.
Some interesting cases from medical practice
1 case from medical practice
A young 28-year-old boy came to the doctor for an appointment with pain in his right side. When asked how long ago the pain started, the answer was that about 8 hours ago. The side began to hurt quite unexpectedly, for no apparent reason, while his temperature slightly rose to 37,8 °.
During the examination, the doctor determined that the pain is distributed on the left side in the area just below the navel. At first glance, the symptoms spoke of peritonitis.
The patient was diagnosed with acute appendicitis. The young man was immediately taken to the surgical department in the operating room for a laparotomy. During the operation, it turns out that the process of the caecum is not changed at all, despite the presence of a serous effusion in the peritoneum. It was decided to examine more carefully the small and large intestine. As a result, an inflamed diverticulum (embryonic bile duct) was found at the junction. It was removed because it was he who caused symptoms similar to appendicitis. Most often, inflammation of the diverticulum occurs without any symptoms, and only 5% of people find it during laparoscopy or some other operation.
2 case from medical practice
A 65-year-old man with suspected acute appendicitis was taken by ambulance to the emergency room of the hospital. The necessary analyzes were taken and additional examinations were carried out. It was decided to operate, as other methods failed to eliminate the pain. The patient agreed to the operation.
During the operation, the surgeon discovered an inflamed process of the appendix, which has a dense texture. Its length was 3,5-4 cm, there was a plaque of fibrin and obvious signs of an inflammatory process. The appendix was removed. After the operation, the wounds began to fester a little, despite this the patient was discharged home.
After 21 days, a conclusion was obtained after the examination of the process. Bottom line: appendicitis cancer. The necessary data were transferred to the clinic at the place of observation of the patient. He was called in for a consultation with an oncologist. The man chose to refuse further treatment. He died 6 months later.
3 case from medical practice
An 82-year-old woman was taken to the hospital by ambulance with complaints of pain in the lower abdomen. Based on the results of the examination, the history of the disease and the questioning of the patient, it was concluded that an urgent operation was needed to remove acute appendicitis.
The patient was prepared for surgery and taken to the operating room of the surgical department. As a result of laparoscopy, the surgeon did not notice any deviations of the appendix. However, when examining the junction of the small and large intestines, a small hole was found through which intestinal contents entered the abdominal cavity. The reason for this hole was a foreign body (fish bone), which was safely removed. Intestinal perforation was sutured. The necessary postoperative treatment and observation was carried out. The patient was discharged home in a satisfactory condition.
These are just a few real cases from the practice of surgeons. The described cases only confirm the statement that you should not rely on chance and wait until everything goes away on its own. It is better to immediately call an ambulance and be calm during the provision of assistance by qualified doctors.
Signs of appendicitis do not always indicate inflammation of the process of the caecum, often with similar symptoms, pathologies that are completely unexpected for the patient are found, on which his health depends.
кантип аппендицит
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кантип аппендицит
болсо болот