Symptoms of appendicitis are diverse, and the main insidiousness of the disease is that its manifestations are often confused with a common cold or other diseases. Sometimes appendicitis is similar to cholecystitis, in other cases it manifests itself as signs characteristic of inflammation of the appendages or even pregnancy with the attachment of a fetal egg outside the uterus.
It hurts, oh, how it hurts!
The main symptom of appendicitis is pain, but this condition cannot be recognized only by pain. In addition, the condition can manifest itself in fever, nausea and vomiting, impaired stool. However, all these phenomena are not required. Among older patients, they are most often not seen. Appendicitis can be suspected by a sudden and sharp pain in the abdomen. With this symptom, you should immediately contact the emergency team, even if the pain is tolerable. By the way, a symptom may disappear after some time, but this is not a reason to calm down - such a phenomenon may indicate a transition of the form to a more severe one.
With symptoms of appendicitis, you should not try to alleviate the condition with painkillers or antimicrobials. Indeed, the pain can weaken, but the picture of the disease, clinical symptoms will be blurry, which will complicate an accurate diagnosis. Suspecting appendicitis, you will have to abandon a hot bath or relieve pain with a heating pad, as this can activate the inflammatory process and the spread of purulent secretions throughout the abdominal cavity. It is dangerous to use choleretic medicines, to put an enema. First aid to the patient at home - call the ambulance team and ensuring complete rest.
Status Update
Having noticed dubious symptoms, it is necessary to call a doctor. The patient will be taken to a clinic where they will check the basic vital signs of the body and detect laboratory symptoms of appendicitis, if the problem is in it. The doctor feels the affected area, but this is unlikely to allow an accurate diagnosis. To check the condition, first they take blood, urine samples for examination, then they will be sent for an ultrasound examination of the abdominal cavity. The presence of an inflammatory focus is confirmed by an increased concentration of leukocytes.
To make sure that it is the symptoms that are observed, signs of appendicitis, laparoscopy is prescribed. A small puncture is made in the abdominal wall, a device is introduced into the human body that transmits a real-time image via cable to the monitor. So the doctor can accurately determine what is happening to the person, what are the causes of pain.
Forms and Steps
The most difficult thing is to recognize the symptoms of appendicitis at home, when the disease is just beginning to develop. The first half day lasts a catarrhal form. In the stomach there is pain, discomfort, but they are usually not strong enough to cause anxiety. Many confuse them with gastritis. Sensations become stronger in the evening, at night. Soreness is dull, considered by many to be insignificant. Possible vomiting, nausea. Doctors say that this phenomenon is associated with human reflexes. At an advanced age in patients, vomiting is almost always absent or very weakly expressed. This complicates the timely and accurate diagnosis.
Symptoms of appendicitis at home can be suspected if the pain in the first half of the day from the moment it migrates into the abdomen from the bottom right, if the appendix is located on the right (anatomical abnormalities are possible, this must be taken into account). Gradually, the pain begins to throb and crush, and the intensity increases. In some, the development of the condition is accompanied by loose stools and frequent urges to urinate.
Symptoms of appendicitis in adults and children in the initial stages include fever above 37 degrees. Gradually, various signs of general poisoning appear, including weakness, frequent heartbeats, and dry mouth. The pain intensifies; it is becoming more and more difficult to endure. The abdomen is soft, with palpation on the right it responds with pain. This stage is best suited for urgent surgery, but it is rarely possible to identify a pathology, and people are delayed with an appeal to a specialist.
Disease progression
How to identify the symptoms of appendicitis? In women, men, the disease, which remained unattended at the catalysis stage described above, manifests itself with ever greater discomfort over time. By the end of the first day, the pain is already clearly defined on the right in the lower abdomen, intense and pulsating. The patient constantly feels nauseous. The heart rate is about 90 contractions per minute. The temperature is close to 38 degrees. If you visually examine the patient, you can see that the right side of the abdomen lags behind the left when inhaling and exhaling.
From the bottom right at this stage of appendicitis, tension is observed. This indicates the spread of the inflammatory focus to the peritoneum. The diagnostic symptoms of appendicitis in men and women at this stage are all positive, so it’s easy for the doctor to determine exactly what needs to be treated. As a rule, it is at this stage that the patient is referred for emergency surgery.
Second and third day
The third stage of the disease is gangrenous. Symptoms of appendicitis in women, men change again. At first, the pain decreases. This indicates the death of nerve cells localized near the focus of inflammation, due to which sensitivity becomes less. But the general poisoning manifests itself brighter. Tachycardia is stronger, the patient vomits. The temperature drops first to normal, then to 36 degrees or even less.
Doctors know exactly how to determine the symptoms of appendicitis at this stage: there is no peristalsis, the stomach is swollen, touching the body in the appendix area causes severe pain to the patient.
Fourth stage
Symptoms of appendicitis in women, men, who reached the case before the transition to the perforated phase, include very severe pain. The pain is clearly defined on the right in the lower abdomen, with time it becomes stronger, there is no relief even for a short time, the pain is constant. The patient vomits many times; severe tachycardia disturbs. Even with a visual examination, one can see how tight the stomach is, bloating is noticeable. No peristalsis. The tongue is covered with a brownish coating, the body temperature rises to 40 degrees, sometimes even higher.
If you ignore the symptoms of appendicitis, in women, men, the phase of peritonitis or abscess begins.
It's important to know
The mentioned dates are average. In some cases, the disease can develop literally instantly, in others - the course is quite slow.
Not everything goes according to plan
Appendicitis can develop in the form described above - this is a typical scenario of the disease. There is a risk of atypical development when clinical symptoms are absent, although there are inflammatory processes in the body. There are several atypical forms, each of which has its own characteristics.
Symptoms of appendicitis are rarely observed in women, men, developing as empyema. This term refers to a state where the pain is immediately localized to the right in the lower abdomen, the condition worsens gradually, the pain is relatively weak. Poisoning of the body shows itself only by the fifth day of the development of pathology, the patient is shivering, there is fever, a weak condition.
Sometimes the symptoms of appendicitis in women, men indicate a retrocecal form. On average, it is detected in every tenth patient. The primary symptoms of the disease are mild, the temperature rises to rather high rates, the stool is semi-liquid, mucous discharge is possible. In some cases, soreness is localized in the lower back and gives to the thigh on the right side.
Symptoms of appendicitis developing in the pelvic scenario are possible in women. On average, it accounts for about 9-18% of all patients. The disease manifests itself with loose stools containing mucous secretions. Peritoneal irritation is observed, but rather weak. A slight rise in temperature is possible, but the general poisoning of the body is practically not felt.
Possible options: what else happens?
Subhepatic appendicitis is possible. With this form of the disease, discomfort is localized under the ribs on the right.
During pregnancy, appendicitis often appears in the second half of the term. The condition is expressed by moderate in strength signs, pain - closer to the right side of the body under the ribs. Assessment of the condition of the expectant mother begins with a temperature check. Heat is one of the first symptoms of appendicitis in women. How to determine at home in a particular case, the cause is inflammation of the appendix, or not, no one will say - you can clarify the condition only in the clinic. Mild symptoms characteristic of peritoneal irritation are possible.
Sometimes the signs, symptoms of appendicitis in women, men indicate a left-sided form. The picture is generally standard, but the pain is felt on the left. This is possible if a person has a specific anatomy from birth - the organs are located in the reverse order. Left-sided appendicitis can develop with increased activity of the cecum.
Chronicle
The cases described above are acute appendicitis. In addition to it, the disease can develop as chronic. Symptoms of appendicitis in this case will include periodic soreness, which becomes stronger if you cough, walk, run. A relapse is possible in which the manifestations are similar to the acute form. In chronicles, the temperature is normal or slightly higher than standard indicators (about 37 degrees).
On average, chronic appendicitis is diagnosed in one patient out of a hundred. Clinical manifestations may be similar to pyelonephritis, ulcer or cholecystitis. Sometimes appendicitis manifests itself in phenomena characteristic of gynecological or other pathologies of organs localized in the abdominal cavity.
Special case: men get sick
Some manifestations of appendicitis, characteristic of men, are characteristic of women, but there are some distinctive features that are characteristic only of the stronger sex. As a rule, appendicitis can be suspected by a white coating covering the tongue, soreness and repeated vomiting, and an increase in temperature. The patient feels weak, dries in his mouth, stray, and the rhythm of contraction of the heart muscle is quickened. With appendicitis, appetite disappears, stool is disturbed, a person is constantly in a forced position, in which the pain is somewhat easier.
Vomiting, nausea come after an attack of pain. The appetite at first weakens, gradually disappears altogether. The tongue is moist at first, gradually dries, turns white. If the focus of inflammation is located near the intestinal loops, diarrhea worries. With localization in the bladder, urge to urinate becomes more frequent.
Symptoms vary, a lot depends on the age, stage of the disease, the presence of background diseases.
Features of pain
With appendicitis, soreness is often felt in the iliac region, but this is characteristic of people who have an inflamed organ located standardly. In the pelvic position it hurts near the pubis, when located behind the rectum - in the lower back or lateral region of the abdomen. It can hurt on the right under the ribs if the appendix is higher than the standard position. About seven hours from the onset of the first soreness is enough time to understand exactly where the pain is felt. Especially strong sensations with careless movements. Sometimes they are provoked by coughing, laughing, talking. Relief occurs if you curl up in the pose of the embryo.
A fairly characteristic symptom of appendicitis in men is pulling up the testicle on the right. When the scrotum is pulled back, this area responds with pain. Pulling occurs spontaneously, is not controlled. With light sipping, the area hurts. Possible pain in the anus, frequent urge to defecate. The pain can become stronger if you try to raise your arm or leg on the right.
Children are sick: features
An acute form of the disease can occur at any age. From medical statistics it is known that children from 5 to 14 years old are more often ill. On average, among girls, the frequency of the pathology of a widow is higher than in boys. Symptoms may differ from those described above due to structural features of the organ, insufficiently formed lymphoid tissue.
The basic symptom is abdominal pain, and it is possible in different areas - this depends on the particular position of the affected organ. The kid is worried, does not eat, does not sleep, cries. There is fever, palpitations, the stool becomes loose, or constipation occurs. Bloating is possible, sometimes - problems with urination, up to dysuria. Usually the disease appears suddenly, the symptoms progress quickly.
Some time ago, scientists conducted statistical studies, the results of which were pretty obvious: about 40% of patients with appendicitis were admitted to the clinic after eating sunflower seeds and chips on the eve. The dependence was especially pronounced among children of 14 years of age and close to this.
Atypical and typical options
Occasionally, with appendicitis in children, soreness is felt in the inguinal region, reproductive organs, in the stomach or ureter. This greatly complicates the accurate determination of the causes of pain. Often, children with appendicitis reflexively lie on their left side and pull their legs to the chest - with this position, the soreness weakens. The child does not allow touching the stomach, cries and screams, cannot eat and sleep. As calming down, the baby takes a certain position and does not move.
The patient's face turns red, a white coating is visible on the tongue, fever and tachycardia are observed. In middle-aged children, the pulse and temperature do not correspond to each other; in medicine, this is called a symptom of scissors. The patient vomits, but there is no relief.