Appendix is a finger-shaped organ in your body connected to the end of your large intestine. It projects into your lower right side of your abdomen from your colon area. Medical problems can occur when your appendix becomes obstructed or blocked. Blockage can occur because of fecal matter, parasites and mucus. When your appendix becomes infected or inflamed this is called appendicitis. Your appendix does not serve a certain purpose, but can be a painful area when infected. Anyone can develop appendicitis. However, the medical condition typically develops in people who range in age from 10 to 30 years old.
Symptoms of appendicitis is an indication of a medical emergency. Acute symptoms and signs can cause a trip to the emergency room.
If you are suffering from appendicitis, it is important for you to visit a physician or emergency room for medical assistance. The following are 10 signs of appendicitis you need to know:
1. Mid-Abdomen Pain
Appendicitis typically involves a slow onset of pain in your stomach. The pain in this area is called mid-abdomen pain. The stomach ranges from cramping, dull or aching pain throughout your abdomen. This occurs because your appendix is inflamed and swollen and it irritates the lining of your abdominal wall, or peritoneum. However, you may experience a sharp pain in your lower right abdomen. As the symptom develops, the pain in your stomach will become more severe and constant instead of aching and dull. For instance, the pain can develop in the matter of hours. In some cases, the stomach pain will occur in your back or pelvis instead of stomach. The pain is in your stomach, but because your appendix may be located behind your colon. Thus, you may feel the stomach pain in your pelvis or back.
2. Dull Pain
Pain is a signal to your nervous system that something is wrong in your body. A dull pain is a mild type of discomfort. It is difficult to describe because the pain is not extremely hurtful. Instead, dull pain is a nagging pain that is annoying. The pain does not stop, but it may not increase in severity either. Also, the pain is often placed on the lower level of the pain scale because it does not hurt as much as severe pain. In fact, it is lower than other types of pain such as sharp and mild. Sharp pain: Sharp pain is on the opposite end of a dull, aching pain symptom. Instead this type of pain feels like someone is stabbing or cutting you.
The pain may feel like it is piercing the area of your body in pain. The sharp pain will increase in severity as you develop appendicitis. For instance, the pain will increase as you move around, cough or sneeze. The severe pain will develop in your stomach. It may be near the navel and/or on the right side of your stomach. The severe pain typically worsens over time and accompany other symptoms like bloated stomach and constipation.
3. Chills
The medical description for chills is feeling cold. The coldness you feel is accompanied by shivers. You cannot remain still because you are so cold. You may develop chills after being in a cold environment. It may also accompany other symptoms of different medical conditions such as a fever. You may feel more than just cold, but a deep chill in your bones. This may cause you to rock back and forth or just shiver. This symptom will not go away if you put on more clothes. No matter how warm your environment is, you cannot get rid of the cold.
4. Fever
A fever occurs when your body temperature temporarily increases because of an illness. It is a way to show something is wrong. For an adult, a fever may not be a cause for concern unless it reaches at or higher than 103 F. For an infant or toddler, a slight increase in temperature may be a sign of a serious infection. A fever may go away after about three days. However, with appendicitis, you may experience a mild increase in body temperature ranging from 99 F to 100.5 F. Your body temperature may increase if your appendix ruptures. Also, it may accompany other symptoms such as chills and pain.
5. Loss of Appetite
Sometimes you may experience times when you are not hungry or do not want to eat. This is normal. However, losing your desire to eat and/or consume food for a long period of time is not typically normal. A loss of appetite occurs when your desire to consume food and/or beverages decreases. Loss of appetite is commonly referred to as anorexia. This does not mean that you are refusing to eat because you want to be thin. You do want to eat because you have an illness such as appendicitis. Loss of appetite may accompany other symptoms like pain in your stomach or a high body temperature.
6. Malaise
When healthy, you have the energy to conduct daily task and you may feel good and happy about the future. However, if you suffer from malaise, you tend to feel the opposite. The definition of the condition is not physically feeling good. You may experience lack of physical well-being, discomfort or illness. You can feel tired, or fatigued, that will not go away no matter how much rest or sleep you obtain each day. You may also feel a sense of unease, dread or discomfort about the future. It may accompany a catastrophic event or an illness such as appendicitis.
7. Diarrhea
Occasionally diarrhea can occur for no reason. Diarrhea occurs when your stool is watery and loose. You tend to have frequent bowel movements more than usual. For instance, you may produce a greater volume of stool than you typically would otherwise. You may also experience other symptoms such as cramps in your intestines and stomach. The symptom varies in duration, and severity. The acute form of the medical condition may last anywhere from two days to two weeks. The chronic form of the medical condition lasts longer than two weeks. As you experience this symptom, you lose needed nutrients.
8. Vomiting
Vomiting is commonly described as throwing up the contents of the food and/or beverage you consumed. It occurs when you forcefully discharge all the contents in your stomach. It is your body’s attempt to get contents of a food and/or beverage that does not agree with you. Your body can also get rid of the food and/or beverage can cause other symptoms like a short throat or upset stomach. Recurrent vomiting is a sign of an underlying medical condition such as appendicitis. Frequent vomiting will lead to dehydration, which can lead to death if untreated.
9. Nausea
Nausea occurs when you experience stomach discomfort and the sensation of wanting to throw up. It can proceed to throwing up all the contents in your stomach. Your stomach may feel queasy and you feel lightheaded or dizzy. Nausea may occur for different reasons from motion sickness to taking medication or appendicitis. You may experience all the signs of throwing up such as a watery mouth and cramping in your stomach. You may experience the sign of appendicitis if you stand suddenly or are sitting. Besides throwing up or wanting to throw up, it can accompany other symptoms such as pain in your stomach.
