APPENDICITIS is a condition in which the appendix, a small inconsequential appendage to the colon, becomes inflamed and swollen. Although waste matter from the bowel flows past the appendix, the appendix's own mucous secretions normally keep it clean.
The swollen appendix, filled with pus and fluid, may block off its supply of blood. With its blood supply cut off, the wall of the appendix weakens and sometimes ruptures. This is called a perforated appendix.
.Known causes
There is no clear cause of appendicitis.
It usually occurs when the appendix becomes blocked by faeces, a foreign object, or rarely, a tumour. Faecal material is thought to be one possible obstructing object. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites can be responsible agents of an infection that leads to swelling of the tissues of the appendix wall. Also, swelling of the tissue from inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease may cause appendicitis.
Appendicitis is not hereditary or transmittable from person to person.
Identify it
The symptoms of appendicitis vary. It can be hard to diagnose appendicitis in young children, the elderly, and women of childbearing age. Typically, the first symptom is pain around your belly button. The pain may be vague at first, but becomes increasingly sharp and severe. You may have reduced appetite, nausea, vomiting, and a low-grade fever. As the inflammation in the appendix increases, the pain tends to move into your right lower abdomen and focuses directly above the appendix at a place called McBurney's point.
If the appendix ruptures, the pain may lessen briefly and you may feel better.
However, once the lining of the abdominal cavity becomes inflammed and infected (a condition called peritonitis), the pain worsens and you become sicker.
Abdominal pain may be worse when walking or coughing. You may prefer to lie still because sudden movement causes pain. Later symptoms include chills, constipation, diarrhoea, shaking.
Treatment
The surgery that corrects appendicitis, called an appendectomy, is a procedure with relatively little risk. Normally, the patient stays in the hospital for less than a week and can usually count on being back to a normal routine in three weeks. With laparoscopic appendectomy, most patients can go home within 24 hours of the operation.
However, if the appendix is ruptured, the patient may need to stay in the hospital for a considerably longer period of time and the risk of complications is much greater. A very ill patient may require special measures, such as stomach tubes and intravenous medications. Do not take laxatives, antibiotics, or pain medications because these may cause delay in diagnosis that increases the risk of rupture of the appendix or mask the symptoms.
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