Appendicitis is the inflammation of the appendix, which is located on the lower right side of your abdomen. Appendicitis causes extreme pain in your lower abdomen; however, the pain radiates all over the stomach. Although everyone can develop Appendicitis, it is the most common for young people between 10-30.
What does the Appendix do?
The function of the Appendix is still unknown. Many researchers found that it holds good bacteria that can help reboot the digestive system after diarrheal illness. Others claim that the Appendix is a bacteria that became useless with evolution. People who have Appendicitis and have it removed don’t need to worry about health problems after surgery.
Symptoms
The symptoms of Appendicitis can be confusing because you might confuse it with regular abdominal pain, however, as appendicitis continues the pain gets more severe and doesn’t go away. First you start off with bad abdominal pain, then it worsens to a point that its hard to stand up straight, and finally the nausea starts. Here are the symptoms of Appendicitis.
- Pain in the lower right abdomen
- Pain that radiates throughout your whole stomach
- Pain that worsens when you cough or walk.
- Nausea and vomiting
- Loss of appetite
Diagnosis
One you get to the hospital; a surgeon will examine you and probably want to do an ultrasound. Most doctors try to avoid doing a CT scan because of the radiation. When a woman has appendicitis, the doctors will probably send her to get an ultrasound of the ovaries in order to rule out the possibility of it being a tangled ovary.
While some cases of appendicitis can simply go away, the most common treatment is emergency surgery. People start feeling pain when the appendix is inflamed, once it bursts it is dangerous and needs removal.
Here at EMA Care, we have diagnosed many cases of appendicitis and helped students get through it. Appendicitis can be very scary because the symptoms start off minor and they get progressively worse with time.The good news is, this is very common and easily fixed! Surgeons deal with Appendicitis all of the time and it’s a quick surgery with minimal scars (the surgery is laparoscopic).