Appendicitis Symptoms and Signs

Pain in the upper abdomen. A stomach ache is a common symptom of abdominal ailments, and appendicitis is no exception. In this case, at the commencement of the condition, you’ll find the pain centered on the region of the navel. As the condition progresses, of course, the pain will spread to encompass the entire abdomen and increase in intensity exponentially as the condition worsens. It goes without saying that the condition is serious and potentially fatal.

Disinterest in eating. One of the first manifestations of appendicitis is a disinclination to eat. The abdomen will feel tender and with the onset of the initial pain, the patient will begin to avoid food. This is not a decisive indicator of the condition, but, when taken with other indicators of the same, can be considered a definite symptom of the ailment. It is a factor adding to the manifest danger of this condition – to the dangers of infection are added a lack of intake of food and drink, which can rapidly lead to dehydration, as well as to general weakness.

Throbbing ache in the lower-right abdomen. In the initial stages of appendicitis, the pain is general and centered around the navel. However, as the condition progresses, and especially if it is untreated, the pain tends to localize and focus upon the appendix itself, that is to say, in the lower-right abdomen. The pain is agonizing and has been likened by some sufferers to being shot in the stomach, or the experience of birthing a child. This pain, unlike the general pain at the onset of the condition, is a decisive indicator of appendicitis and is used by physicians to diagnosis.

A general queasiness, or feelings of nausea. One of the most misleading symptoms of appendicitis is queasiness or nausea, and as the condition progresses, even vomiting. While the intense pain associated with the disease may worry a person at first, once nausea and vomiting set in a person may convince themselves that they have little more than a stomach infection. This is exceedingly dangerous since appendicitis is almost always fatal if left untreated. This is why you need to view the symptoms as a composite whole and seek medical assistance before the condition becomes life-threatening.

Running a temperature. Appendicitis is a serious infection, and as the body fights it, it is inevitable that the patient will begin to run a fever. In the initial stages of the disease, this symptom might mislead a patient into thinking he or she is suffering from some sort of flu. However, the fever will continue to rise to dangerous levels as the condition progresses, and other indications of the condition will also intensify.

Shivering. Patients suffering from appendicitis often experience intense bouts of shivering, and “feeling cold” along with the fever that is an obvious symptom of the disease. The shivering that one experiences are the muscles undergoing contractions in rapid succession as a means to healing the body. In appendicitis, as with most infections, the fever is an indication of the body fighting the infection.

Feeling bloated. Appendicitis, in its progressive stages, can make a person feel unpleasantly bloated, something like the way you feel after a large or badly digested meal. However, this feeling is not caused by actual gas, but by the appendicitis itself. Unlike gas, the effect will not pass in a few hours but will be chronic and persistent. The patient will unconsciously try to expel gas but will fail, as it is the infection affecting the intestines and not gas.

Moving can be exceedingly painful. While the condition is painful in itself, and while the pain intensifies as the condition progresses, the pain while the body is at rest is very much less intense than the pain when a person attempts to move. Sitting in a moving vehicle that jerks as it moves along the road can create flashes of agony centered on the appendix, and throbbing through the entire abdomen. Even the action of moving the limbs or walking will intensify the pain. A relatively intense movement, such as sneezing, will result in minutes of intense agony. However, it is observed that the pain tends to reduce to the levels usual to the infection when the body is at rest again.

Progressively intensifying diarrhea, leading to dehydration. Appendicitis causes an intense infection of the intestines that causes their function to fail progressively. In the initial stages, you will experience this as constipation, but after that, diarrhea will begin and will become progressively more intense until the body is losing unacceptable levels of liquid. If the appendicitis itself is not treated, this will lead to inevitable dehydration and death.

Pain upon removal of pressure on the abdomen. One of the distinctive tests of appendicitis is when the physician palpates or presses down gently on the area of the abdomen over the appendix. In appendicitis, a patient will experience pain, not when the pressure is applied, but when the pressure is released, in an effect that the medical fraternity calls ‘rebound tenderness’. You should not attempt to do this yourself in the later stages of the condition, and even if you do this in the initial stages, you should not repeat it if you experience the effect once. It is a clear indicator of appendicitis, so if you experience it, consult your doctor immediately.