Appendicitis

Let me first object to the common notions of appendicitis. It does not necessarily raise the temperature. Pain is not necessarily acute. The pain is usually concentrated in the lower right side of the abdomen, not at the beginning of the attack, but only after some time. Vomiting does not always happen. A blood test does not prove that abdominal pain is caused by appendicitis.

The appendix of the is a small process of the cecum, the size of a short earthworm. Usually it is located in the center of the right lower quadrant of the abdomen. But it can also descend or move to the middle of the abdomen or to the ribs. Its inflammation is a gradual process similar to the formation of an abscess. Therefore, unexpected severe pain in the abdomen, which lasts for several minutes, and then disappears forever, is not appendicitis. The greatest danger arises when an inflamed appendix bursts, as a normal abscess breaks through, and the infection spreads throughout the abdomen. This is called peritonitis. Rapidly developing appendicitis can break through in less than 24 hours. Therefore, if the pain in the abdomen lasts for more than an hour, you need to call a doctor, although in nine out of ten cases it turns out that this is not appendicitis, but something else.

In the most typical cases, pain in the navel area lasts several hours. Only then it shifts lower and to the right. One or two patients may vomit, but not necessarily. Appetite usually worsens, but not always. The stool can be normal or difficult, rarely liquid. After several hours, the temperature rises to 48 degrees, but appendicitis can also occur without raising the temperature. When a child raises his right knee, or when he pulls him back, or when he walks, the pain may intensify.

As you can see, the symptoms of appendicitis are different in different cases, and a doctor is needed to establish the diagnosis. The indication for the doctor is that the pain is felt on the right, when he gently probes the abdomen. You'll notice that he does not ask if it hurts, every time he presses. On the contrary, he will try to distract the child from what he does. This is because children, especially small ones, who have a stomach ache, are inclined to answer every question: "Yes, it hurts here."If the sore spot is located in the lower right abdomen, the doctor suspects appendicitis, but for the final decision needs a blood test. Increased ROE means that somewhere in the body there is inflammation, but where exactly, it is unknown.

Often even the most experienced doctor can not finally decide whether the child has appendicitis or not. But if suspicions of appendicitis are strong, he advises to do the operation, and for very good reasons. If it's appendicitis, it's dangerous to delay, but if it's not appendicitis, the operation will not do much harm.