Appendicitis

Appendicitis is a condition in which appendix becomes inflamed and filled with pus.

- Dr. Chalapathy

Appendix is a finger-shaped pouch that projects out from your colon on the lower right side of your abdomen. This small structure has no known essential purpose, but that doesn’t mean it can’t cause problems. Anyone can develop appendicitis, but it most often strikes people between the ages of 10 and 30. The standard treatment for appendicitis is surgical removal of the appendix. The main symptom of appendicitis is pain that typically begins around your navel and then shifts to your lower right abdomen. The pain of appendicitis usually increases over a period and may become very severe.

Symptoms

• Appendicitis can cause a variety of symptoms that may change over time:

• Early on, the most common symptom is an aching pain around navel that often shifts later to lower right abdomen.

• As the inflammation spreads to nearby tissues, the pain may become sharper and more severe.

• Eventually, the pain tends to settle in lower right abdomen — near appendix at what’s known as McBurney point. This point is about halfway between navel and the top of right pelvic bone.