The precise cause of appendicitis is not well understood, and it can affect anyone at any time, though it is more frequently seen in children. Because appendicitis can lead to widespread infection, a ruptured appendix, and other severe or life-threatening complications, almost immediate diagnosis and treatment are necessary. Unfortunately, the signs and symptoms of appendicitis often mimic those of other conditions, making it a difficult ailment to self-diagnose.
Additionally, appendicitis symptoms may initially be subtle or confusing, particularly in pregnant women and older patients. In infants and children, appendicitis is often mistaken for a stomach bug and left untreated, leading to dangerous complications. To avoid worsening symptoms and more serious infections, it is important to understand how to identify the signs of appendicitis and when a visit to the ER is necessary.
The most common symptoms of appendicitis include:. If you think you or your loved one may be experiencing appendix pain or other symptoms of appendicitis, it is important to visit your nearest Frisco or Fort Worth ER immediately.
The first several doses will be given through your veins at the hospital. You typically take antibiotics for up to two to four weeks, depending on how bad the peritonitis or abscess was. Open surgery instead of laparoscopic is almost always used for a ruptured appendix. This is so your doctor can be sure that all of the infection has been cleaned out of the abdominal cavity. It can take four to six weeks to fully recover from surgery.
For a few days after surgery or after a drain is placed, you may be given strong prescription pain medication. After that, you can usually manage the pain with over-the-counter medications, like ibuprofen Advil or acetaminophen Tylenol.
It takes a couple days for your intestines to start working again after surgery, so you may have a very limited diet until that happens. Keep your incision clean and dry. Avoid lifting anything heavy or participating in sports or other strenuous activities for four to six weeks after open surgery.
You should be able to return to work or school a week or so after surgery, depending on how you feel. Without prompt or appropriate treatment, a ruptured appendix is a life-threatening condition. The outcome is often poor. When you know the symptoms, seek medical attention right away, and receive the correct diagnosis, you should fully recover from your ruptured appendix. However, you can avoid a rupture if appendicitis is treated right away.
The key is to be aware of the symptoms of appendicitis. If you develop them, seek medical attention immediately. Appendicitis is an inflammation of your appendix, in the lower right side of your abdomen, that requires immediate treatment.
Some symptoms can be…. More often than not, pain in the lower right abdomen is nothing to worry about and will go away on its own in a day or two. An appendectomy is the surgical removal of the appendix. Learn about the appendectomy procedure, risks, and recovery. Researchers say in some less serious cases of appendicitis antibiotics can help avoid surgery to remove the appendix.
Appendix cancer occurs when healthy cells become abnormal and grow rapidly. Appendix cancer is rare, but there are successful treatment options…. Television journalist Norah O'Donnell says she waited too long to have the pain in her abdomen examined. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect.
What causes a rupture? Who knows? Wow, I said to Martha. Some people get "walking pneumonia. But I was gently corrected by Dr. Douglas S. While "walking pneumonia," which is not a medical term, tends to be a milder form of the illness, there's nothing mild about appendicitis that has already reached the point that it has perforated the appendix. In fact, he said, it's more severe.
In the United States, perhaps 80 percent of appendicitis cases get to surgery before the organ ruptures. A brief tangent: I suddenly realized that I could not picture a "perforated appendix.
A cardboard box torn along its perforations? Smink explained: The appendix, which is about the size and shape of a pinky finger, gets very inflamed until, in one area, its muscular wall gets so thin that it breaks open, releasing the bacteria-laden fluid inside. But the fluid doesn't explode out like a splatting water balloon; it seeps and oozes out as if the balloon had sprung a leak. Here's the good news for patients like Martha: The appendix is surrounded by other structures, mostly the intestine, and so, as she was told, the seepage can get "walled off.
Smink said, is that a somewhat mobile layer of visceral fat called the omentum — nicknamed "the policeman of the abdomen" — could be drawn toward areas of inflammation to contain infection. So a patient can end up with a pus-filled abscess outside the appendix, covered partially by the omentum.
Still, why not just operate and get rid of the problem? It's not so simple. An area rife with inflammation is hard for surgeons to work with, Dr. Smink said, and an appendectomy could end up turning into removal of part of the intestine and colon as well.
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