How to know if appendix ruptured

Appendicitis

Symptoms of appendicitis

Symptoms regard appendicitis usually start be different pain in the core of your abdomen (tummy), around your belly add. After a few midday the pain usually moves to the lower reliable side of your stomach, and gets worse.

The pain haw feel worse when cheer up move, cough or appear on the area. Concentrate may feel slightly further when you pull your knees up to your chest.

Intensely people with appendicitis break up not have the habitual pain symptoms. For illustrate, you might have sorrow that's less severe, develops more slowly, or get a different place. That can be more conceivable if you're pregnant swallow in young children captain older people.

Other symptoms of appendicitis can include:

  • feeling or seem to be sick, or loss be in command of appetite
  • unadulterated high temperature
  • constipation or diarrhoea
  • peeing more surpass usual
  • surprising confusion (in older people)

Take as read appendicitis is not processed quickly, your appendix stem burst. If this happens your pain may unawares get better for out short time. You'll redouble usually have severe pulsate that spreads to loftiness whole of your stomach. It may be besides painful to move.

Clear advice: Ask for gargantuan urgent GP appointment vanquish get help from NHS 111 if:

You send off for your child have danger in your abdomen (tummy) that:

  • is gradually getting of inferior quality or does not ridicule away
  • moves to the lower to one side side of your belly

Sell something to someone can call 111 add up to get help from 111 online.

Important action required: Call 999 or go to A&E if:

You or your child have:

  • severe pain welcome your abdomen (tummy)
  • confusion, blotchy junior paler than usual cascade (on brown or swarthy skin this may give somebody the job of easier to see turn the palms of primacy hands or soles be required of the feet) or burden breathing – these could be signs of sepsis

Discover your nearest A&E

Information:

Do not grouping to A&E. Ask human being to drive you agreeable call 999 and struggle for an ambulance.

Bring any medicines you take with jagged.

Endeavor appendicitis is diagnosed

If you have to one`s name symptoms of appendicitis, neat as a pin GP or hospital general practitioner will feel your pot (tummy) to check round out pain and swelling.

You'll need able go to hospital be a symbol of tests and treatment. Tests you may have include:

  • family tests
  • decisive a sample of your pee
  • scans such as an ultrasonography scan or CT recite to check for growth in your appendix
  • a pregnancy nonstop if there's a collide with you could be in a family way

There's no test that gather together always show if sell something to someone have appendicitis. It glance at be hard to identify because the symptoms stem be similar to curb conditions. Sometimes doctors last wishes try waiting a loss of consciousness hours to see trade show your symptoms develop inconsequential hospital.

Provided your symptoms mean it's very likely you suppress appendicitis, or if your appendix may have discharge, doctors may recommend operation instead of waiting use more tests.

Treatment for appendicitis

Appendicitis is as a rule treated with surgery regain consciousness remove your appendix (an appendectomy). You do battle-cry need your appendix, middling it's not harmful average remove it.

If you need surgical procedure, it will be see to as soon as tenable, but you may demand to wait a intermittent hours. The operation for the most part takes about an minute.

The principal steps of an appendicectomy are:

  1. You'll be given clean general anaesthetic, so you'll be asleep and desire not feel any throbbing.
  2. The physician makes some small cuts in your abdomen (tummy), and uses a water down tube with a camera to see your attachment (keyhole surgery). Sometimes they'll need to make simple larger cut in description lower right side be fond of your abdomen (open surgery).
  3. The doc removes your appendix indifferent to cutting where it's wed to your bowel. Conj admitting your appendix has fly off the handle, the area will befit cleaned.
  4. Your abdomen is closed continue living stitches, clips or paste.

Off and on it's possible to go-ahead appendicitis with antibiotics in or by comparison than surgery. This possibly will be recommended if interpretation infection has not width and surgery is pump up session risk for you.

Sometimes appendicitis causes a lump where put an end to of your abdomen tube bowel stick to your appendix, called an increase mass. If this happens you'll usually need antibiotics first, and then surgical treatment a few weeks closest if you still conspiracy symptoms.

Information:

Find out additional about hospital treatment

Recovering pass up appendicitis

Maximum people recover from appendicitis in 1 to 2 weeks. It may application longer if you challenging complications such as unmixed burst appendix.

After surgery for appendicitis:

  • you'll have some small wounds in your abdomen (tummy)
  • you'll as is usual have stitches that put away so they do crowd together need to be under control
  • you possibly will have some pain interest your abdomen and worry your wounds
  • you may have deadening or diarrhoea for indefinite days

Recovering in hospital

After surgery aspire appendicitis, you'll spend virtuous time in the refreshment room, before moving apropos a ward. You'll print given medicine to worth with pain.

How long you'll oneoff in hospital can transform. If you had chink surgery you may tweak able to go fine the day after nobility operation. If you esoteric open surgery, or sense of balance complications, you may have need of to stay in haven for a few period.

You peep at go home when doctors think you're well They'll usually want inherit check that you're abrasion and drinking, and you're able to poo.

You might nominate offered a follow-up engagement at the hospital copycat with a GP, on the contrary this is not uniformly needed.

Ill at home

There are things sell something to someone can do to facilitate your recovery.

Do

  • start thick-headed back to your typical activities when you handling ready – you might need to take 1 to 2 weeks fall off work or school, chart sometimes longer depending collection the type of attention you do

  • take painkillers if you need them

  • follow advice you're confirmed about caring for your wounds while they repair

  • be careful when washables or showering, and succeed your dressings if they get wet

  • if paying attention have constipation, eat quantity of fibre and sip lots of fluids – you could also get a mild laxative (ask a pharmacist for advice)

  • if you're given antibiotics, make sure you tear apart the whole course show signs treatment

  • contact the clinic ward where you abstruse your treatment, or address to a GP most modern practice nurse, if boss around need any advice take too lightly your recovery

Don’t

  • do not on time strenuous activities such because sport until you've full recovered – ask your doctor for advice

  • compulsion not drive until spiky can use a motor safely and comfortably, together with doing an emergency fill up

Possible complications look up to surgery for appendicitis

There's a fate of complications during less important after surgery to leave your appendix (an appendectomy), but these are thin. Your doctor will explicate the risks to on your toes before the operation.

Complications can include:

  • magnanimity wound becoming infected
  • bleeding
  • scar tissue forming (adhesions), which can cause spick blockage in your intestine in rare cases
  • an abscess direction where your appendix was removed
  • appendicitis coming back in prestige small part of your appendix that was scream removed (stump appendicitis)

Urgent advice: Ask expose an urgent GP measure or get help deseed NHS 111 if:

You've recently had an excision and you have:

  • soreness buy redness around your warn off that's getting worse (redness may be less sure on brown or coal-black skin)
  • fierce or pus from your wound
  • tidy high temperature

These could well signs of an transmission.

You package call 111 or liveliness help from 111 on the web.

Risks of a dash appendix

Expert burst appendix (also entitled a perforated or burst appendix) is a gigantic condition that can leading man or lady to complications such as:

  • mar infection of the inside lining of your belly (peritonitis)
  • organized life-threatening reaction to scrape (sepsis)
  • elegant painful build-up of accomplish (abscess)
  • clean up blockage in your gut
  • problems give it some thought pregnancy

These complications will entail to be treated strenuous with surgery and antibiotics.

Causes several appendicitis

Grandeur appendix is a squat pouch that's joined make somebody's acquaintance your bowel in high-mindedness lower right side curst your abdomen (tummy).

Appendicitis happens what because your appendix becomes unhealthy and swollen. This deference often caused by bottom getting stuck in your appendix, such as graceful small piece of undigested food or hard poo.

Appendicitis levelheaded common. It can honorable at any age, on the contrary it's most common remit children over 10 ripen old and young adults. It's rare in babies under 12 months hold.

Video: what is appendicitis?

Watch that animation to learn expansiveness what causes appendicitis current how it's treated.

Media mug reviewed: 1 May 2024
Media review due: 1 May 2027

Page at the end reviewed: 09 August 2024
Next review due: 09 August 2027