Your doctor may gently press or jiggle all areas of your abdomen press your right knee as you lift your leg flex and rotate your leg while you lie on your left side Your doctor may also listen to your abdomen using a stethoscope do a digital rectal exam do a pelvic exam Lab tests To find out whether your abdominal pain is appendicitis or not, your doctor may order a blood test, which may show if you have a high white blood cell count—a sign of infection.
Your blood test also may show if you have dehydration or if any fluids or electrolytes are out of balance. Imaging tests Your doctor may use imaging tests to find out if your pain is caused by appendicitis. Abdominal ultrasound uses sound waves to create an image of your internal organs.
Doctors use an ultrasound as the first imaging test when checking for possible appendicitis in infants, children, young adults, and pregnant women. Doctors may use laparoscopic surgery for appendectomy. This technique involves making several tiny cuts in the abdomen and inserting a miniature camera and surgical instruments. The surgeon then removes the appendix with the instruments, so there is usually no need to make a large incision in the abdomen.
People can live a normal life without their appendix—changes in diet, exercise, or other lifestyle factors are not necessary. Phone: Symptoms Because of the risk of rupture, appendicitis is considered an emergency.
Symptoms include pain in the right side of the abdomen nausea vomiting constipation diarrhea inability to pass gas low fever that begins after other symptoms abdominal swelling anorexia The pain usually begins near the navel and moves down and to the right. Diagnosis The doctor bases an appendicitis diagnosis on symptoms, a physical exam, blood tests to check for signs of infection such as a high white blood cell count, and urine tests to rule out a urinary tract infection.
Treatment If the diagnosis of appendicitis is not certain, people with equivocal signs of appendicitis may be watched and sometimes treated with antibiotics. If your child develops symptoms of appendicitis, contact their doctor right away. If you have laparoscopic surgery to remove your appendix, you may be discharged from the hospital a few hours after you finish surgery or the next day.
If you have open surgery, you will likely need to spend more time in the hospital to recover afterward. Open surgery is more invasive than laparoscopic surgery and typically requires more follow-up care. Before you leave the hospital, your healthcare provider can help you learn how to care for your incision sites. They may prescribe antibiotics or pain relievers to support your recovery process.
They may also advise you to adjust your diet, avoid strenuous activity, or make other changes to your daily habits while you heal. It may take several weeks for you to fully recover from appendicitis and surgery. If you develop complications, your recovery may take longer. Learn about some of the strategies you can use to promote a full recovery. Acute appendicitis is the most common non-obstetric emergency requiring surgery during pregnancy.
It affects an estimated 0. The symptoms of appendicitis may be mistaken for routine discomfort from pregnancy. Pregnancy may also cause your appendix to shift upward in your abdomen, which can affect the location of appendicitis-related pain. This can make it harder to diagnose. Delayed diagnosis and treatment may increase your risk of complications, including miscarriage. Appendicitis can cause serious complications.
For example, it may cause a pocket of pus known as an abscess to form in your appendix. This abscess may leak pus and bacteria into your abdominal cavity. Appendicitis can also lead to a ruptured appendix. If your appendix ruptures, it can spill fecal matter and bacteria into your abdominal cavity.
If bacteria spill into your abdominal cavity, it can cause the lining of your abdominal cavity to become infected and inflamed. This is known as peritonitis , and it can be very serious, even fatal. Bacterial infections can also affect other organs in your abdomen.
For example, bacteria from a ruptured abscess or appendix may enter your bladder or colon. It may also travel through your bloodstream to other parts of your body. To prevent or manage these complications, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics, surgery, or other treatments. In some cases, you might develop side effects or complications from treatment.
However, the risks associated with antibiotics and surgery tend to be less serious than the potential complications of untreated appendicitis. But you might be able to lower your risk of developing it by eating a fiber-rich diet. Although more research is needed on the potential role of diet, appendicitis is less common in countries where people eat high-fiber diets. Your doctor may also encourage you to take a fiber supplement. Appendicitis can affect anyone.
But some people may be more likely to develop this condition than others. For example, risk factors for appendicitis include:. Although more research is needed, low-fiber diets might also raise the risk of appendicitis.
Appendicitis can be acute or chronic. In acute cases of appendicitis, the symptoms tend to be severe and develop suddenly. In chronic cases, the symptoms may be milder and may come and go over several weeks, months, or even years. The condition can also be simple or complex. In simple cases of appendicitis, there are no complications. Complex cases involve complications, such as an abscess or ruptured appendix. Contact your doctor right away if you experience symptoms of appendicitis.
If you undergo surgery to remove your appendix, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics and pain relievers to support your recovery.
In addition to taking medications as prescribed, it may help to:. In some cases, your doctor might encourage you to adjust your diet. Read this article in Spanish. More often than not, pain in the lower right abdomen is nothing to worry about and will go away on its own in a day or two.
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