What Are The Symptoms Of Appendicitis

Seven Signs And Symptoms To Look Out For And How To Prevent Appendicitis

Have you ever woken up with a niggling pain on your abdomen and thought to yourself - could this be my appendix?

If you have had your appendix taken out, what was it like when you had the pain from an acute appendicitis?

For some strange reasons, appendicitis and how to tell the symptoms of appendicitis took the "front burner" in global medical news this week. Especially is this important, with the finding of a new sign, if present, could help to increase the accuracy of diagnosis of this medical problem by as much as 97%.

We thought we should share with you quickly, the latest research findings on this topic, as well as seven signs of appendicitis symptoms and what to do to help prevent appendicitis in children and adults.

So, what are the symptoms of appendicitis?

Symptoms of Appendix Problem

Appendicitis is the inflammation or infection of the blind ended tube at the start of the beginning of the large intestine, about the size of the little finger, called the appendix.  The lumen or cavity of the appendix often gets blocked, and then becomes infected.

If this infection is not recognised and treated on time, the appendix could rupture, letting out faeces and bowel content into the abdomen, causing a wide spread infection of the whole of the abdomen and death potentially.

This condition is so common, yet could be very difficult to diagnose sometimes.  

These are seven top signs and symptoms of appendicitis to aid recognition and diagnosis:

1. Lower right sided abdominal pain that started in the last few hours to few days. The pain might have began around the navel or belly button area or upper abdomen, and then moved down to the lower right abdomen. It may be somehow like a griping or colicky pain initially, before becoming a continuous ache
   
2. Pain becomes worse on movement - with coughing or sneezing or laughing
3. Bending forward and staying still tends to help with the pain
4. Accompanying the pain is  loss of appetite and the feeling of nausea. The loss of appetite and nausea usually precedes the onset of pain
5. There may be one or two episodes of vomiting
6.  Fever, or feeling hot and cold, may also accompany the pain
7. There could be an associated constipation a few days before the onset of pain and one or two episodes of loose stools especially in children.

If you have abdominal pain in the lower right side of the abdomen, with one or more of the above symptoms that started in the last two or three days, there is a very high chance that you may be suffering with appendicitis. Seek medical attention now.

The  December 2012 Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal, in a research conducted by Dr  Helen F Ashdown of University of Oxford, UK, reports a new sign to look out for with as much as 97% accuracy that helps to point to the presence of appendicitis, if present: pain on travelling over speed bumps!

In the article, she reported that  "presence of pain while travelling over speed bumps was associated with an increased likelihood of acute appendicitis." - italics ours.

So, if you have a lower right sided abdominal pain made worse on going over a speed bump on your way to the hospital, do not forget to mention this to your doctor. That information could help improve your chances of having the right diagnosis.

Prevention Of Appendicitis

Medical research has established that the first step in the development of appendicitis in anyone is the obstruction of the lumen of the appendix.

This is often caused if there is imbalance in the bowel function, especially as it relates to movement of materials down the gut.  Low fibre diet (very common in the western diet), increases the chances of developing appendicitis - 70,000 cases of appendicitis are operated upon every year in the UK alone!

Another very common cause of appendicitis is the inflammation and swellings of the glands on the wall of the appendix due to exposure to bad bacteria, parasites , worms or imbalance of the right mix of good bacteria.

You can prevent or reduce your chances of suffering with appendicitis by:

• Increasing the fibre content of your diet

• Improve the general health of your bowel by encouraging proper bowel function and right mix of good bacteria by watching what you eat.

Get More Info on Natural Remedies for Stomach and Digestive Disorders that can help improve your digestive health and bowel functioning.

We have looked at what are the symptoms of appendicitis.

If you have had appendicitis and your appendix removed, we would love to hear from you. So please leave us your experience on this topic below - from the onset of symptoms, how your condition eventually got diagnosed, your experience with the surgery or operation, was it an open operation with a big scar or did you get a keyhole (laparoscopic) surgery and what was it like after surgery? Did you use bio oil for your scar after care to help reduce the prominence of the scar? What ever you can remember and share here, as we set out to explore in detail, what are the symptoms of appendicitis and treatment options, will be highly appreciated.

Please if you want to find out more on what are the symptoms of appendicitis or related information, go to our main page on this topic at abdopain.com/appendicitis. For more info on digestive health, see Natural Remedies for Stomach and Digestive Disorders.

Related Topics:

• What are the symptoms of appendicitis mimickers and how to recognize these
• Overview Of Acute Appendicitis
• Tests for Appendicitis
  
• Appendicitis in Pregnancy
• History Of Appendicitis
  

Return To Appendicitis Page, From What Are The Symptoms Of Appendicitis

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