Inflammation of appendicitis: a description, symptoms, causes and characteristics of treatment

The inflammation of appendicitis is a process that affects the appendix. This element refers to the cecum and is called in medicine "appendix". Symptoms of the disease vary somewhat, it is determined by the form and individual characteristics of the patient. Isolate chronic and acute inflammation of appendicitis in children and adults. The first option in the past few years is much less common than before. As a rule, the reason is that the acute inflammation proceeded with complications, because of which removal was impossible.

Acute form

With this type of disease, several stages are distinguished. One stage eventually changes to another if there was no intervention from the doctors. Speak about:

• The catarrhal stage. The inflammation of appendicitis at this step usually affects only the mucous membrane of the appendix.
• Superficial form. In this case, there is progress in the catarrhal, which leads to damage to the mucous membrane of the organ. Studying the lumen of the appendage, one can see leukocytes and blood.
• Phlegmonous stage. It is characterized by inflammation affecting all layers of the tissues of the body. Destructive processes are affected, including the outer shell of the appendix.
• Phlegmonous-ulcerative. This form is characterized by ulceration of the mucosal surface, which protects the organ from the outside.
• Gangrenous. This stage is typical of the necrosis of the appendix wall. Often there is a breakthrough of the tissues, which causes the contents of the appendix to pour into the abdominal cavity, which provokes peritonitis. With the development of appendicitis before this stage, the likelihood of a lethal outcome is high.

Time does not stand

As a rule, the inflammation of the appendix goes through all the steps described above in just 48 hours. Acute inflammation of appendicitis is a dangerous disease that does not suffer procrastination.

At the first signs it is necessary to visit the surgeon urgently. If the disease has reached the phlegmonous stage, the risk of complications increases.

Pain as the first signal

Isolating signs of inflammation of appendicitis, pain is first mentioned. She appears in the area near the navel. Feels like dull, does not pass with time, constant. Sometimes the stomach hurts from above, approximately to the middle. Less painful sensations cover the abdomen completely. Sometimes the pain is felt right in the ileum.

The intensification of unpleasant sensations occurs when a person walks, bends over. They pursue sharp unpleasant sensations during coughing and laughing. It's very painful to sneeze. But the elderly people are characterized by the absence of pain syndrome.

Note that with an atypical appendix, the pain syndrome can be felt in an unpredictable place. Sometimes it hurts on the right under the ribs, near the pubis or in the kidneys, ureters. Painful sensations can be given to the hips or lower back. In some cases, it is noted that the pain is felt in the external genitalia. An undefined area on the left side of the trunk can hurt.

A few hours after the initial appearance of the pain syndrome, a sensation shifts towards the appendix. These signs of inflammation of appendicitis in women are very important: if you suddenly cease to feel pain, the likelihood of the disease turning into a gangrenous form is high, which is associated with the death of nerve endings in the affected area. You can not pull: you need to call a doctor urgently!

Nauseating and vomiting is also an appendicitis

Particular signs of inflammation of appendicitis in adult men and women are vomiting and nausea accompanying pain syndrome. Please note: before the appearance of pain, such sensations are not observed. If nausea first appeared, and only then did the pain come, there is a possibility that it is not a case of an inflamed appendix, but another pathology, which the doctor will be able to diagnose accurately.

You should also know that in most cases, vomiting occurs only once. Why is it characterized by inflammation of appendicitis? Symptoms in adults allow us to assert that this is a reflex rejection of toxins by the body.

Language and temperature

The characteristic symptoms of appendicitis inflammation in women and men include language changes. At the beginning of the disease, it is usually wet and covered with a thin white coating. With the progression of appendicitis, the tongue becomes dry. This shows that the inflammation of the peritoneum has begun.

The temperature usually rises insignificantly. How to determine the inflammation of appendicitis, focusing on it? Remember that patients usually have a temperature of 37 to 38 degrees. It remains unchanged for a long time. In rare cases, a rise above 38 degrees is recorded. But if the body temperature has risen even higher, we can say with confidence that the inflammatory process is progressing in earnest.

What else to pay attention to?

The characteristic signs of an appendicitis inflammation, allowing to suspect a disease, include a chair, although this is more typical for the elderly. Mark the constipation. If the appendix is near the loops of the small intestine, the probability of diarrhea is high. For this reason, cases of erroneous hospitalization of the patient in infectious departments are not uncommon.

Due to the serious condition of the body, sleep is disturbed. General discomfort strongly affects the sensation of a person's body, pursues a state of fatigue, lethargy, indifference.

Appetite for acute appendicitis usually completely disappears.

Chronic form

Statistics show that this form develops very rarely, not more often than in one percent of all cases of inflammation of the appendix. Inflammation after appendicitis appears painful to the right in the ileum. Sensations are stupid. The localization of pain is valid for a typically located organ.

How to determine the inflammation of appendicitis if the disease has passed into a chronic form? The only option is to visit a doctor who will conduct a full diagnostic complex. Usually the study includes:

• Ultrasound;
• Laparoscopy;
• Tomography.

Easy to mix up

Chronic appendicitis in its manifestations is close to a number of diseases, including:

• Pyelonephritis;
• ulcer;
• Chronic form of cholecystitis.

Chronic inflammation of appendicitis can be suspected if regularly pains tenderness, increasing when a person moves the body (tilts, turns). When the disease worsens, the temperature rises slightly, the general manifestations are similar to the acute form.

What is dangerous?

Chronic appendicitis is dangerous primarily because it can cause peritonitis. If you suspect a disease, you need to visit a doctor urgently to assess exactly how bad the patient is.

In general, practice shows that it is timely treatment to a doctor that saves people life. Pozatanuv with an ambulance, you can at best "reward" yourself with very unpleasant moments of sharp pain, at worst a fatal outcome awaits.

That also happens!

One of the most famous cases in modern medicine of appendicitis treatment occurred at the Soviet station in Antarctica, where Leonid Rogozov was among the permanent staff . During the stay at the station for obvious symptoms, the specialist diagnosed inflammation of the appendicitis in an acute form.

At first there were attempts to apply conservative methods of treatment: resorted to ice, antibiotics and starvation. But this practice has not shown results. There were no other doctors at the station at the time. The doctor decided to independently carry out the operation on himself and immediately proceeded to this.

In the course of the operation, the engineer-mechanic of the research station held a mirror, a meteorologist was involved - he gave instruments. The doctor operated on himself for almost two hours. The result was successful. Just a week later the doctor was able to again perform his regular functions. An example of this operation is one of the most famous in our world, demonstrating human courage and willingness to fight against any difficulties.

And if in normal life?

Of course, stories about incidents at Arctic stations are curious to everyone, but in everyday life, in everyday life, everything is much simpler. With signs of appendicitis, there is no need to show miracles of courage and become a hero, you just need to use medical help in a timely manner. Who should I contact if there is a suspicion of appendicitis?

First of all, call an ambulance. As a rule, by the time when a person realizes that he needs help from a doctor, it's too late to go to the clinic himself - too much pain accompanying each movement, and even a slight cough. Turning to ambulance services, the patient quickly, already in her bed at home, receives a primary diagnosis.

The next step is the examination of the patient by the therapist in a hospital. Here, under the control of an anesthesiologist, an exact diagnosis will be made and it will be determined what the stage of the disease is, and what measures must be taken. In some cases, inflammation of the appendix is accompanied by severe pathologies that develop against the background of a disease of the appendix. Then you will have to bring in the treatment of specialized doctors. The most difficult cases of inflammation of the appendix, accompanied by:

• Recently suffered a heart attack;
• Decompensated diabetes mellitus.

Children are a special case

As a rule, the diagnosis of inflammation of the appendix in young children is more difficult. The child can not explain clearly and distinctly what exactly it hurts and where. In some cases, inflammation develops at such an early age that the baby still does not even know how to speak. How to suspect the disease in this case?

Usually, with the development of an appendix, a small child cries a lot, worries, as if demonstrating to the people around him. But if the adults try to touch, it shows a protest and only weeps and screams even louder. The disease develops gradually, the symptoms grow with time.

During the day the sick child crouches and bursts into tears without any preconditions. At night, children often wake up from a painful syndrome. Development of the disease manifests itself by vomiting and nausea. If in adults this is a one-time phenomenon, then in small children it is repeated many times. Doctors say that this is a reflex response of the body to toxins, the isolation of which accompanies the inflammatory process.

People of advanced age have their own characteristics

As for older people, they have an inflammation of appendicitis with a number of characteristics that complicate the diagnosis of the disease. First of all, it is a weak pain syndrome, which is often absent altogether. Because of this, the definition of appendicitis occurs with a significant delay.

You can suspect that something is wrong with the missing appetite and tension peculiar to the muscles on the right, in the ileum. You can feel it by passing the palpation of the body part. However, it is not recommended to examine the body by yourself, since you can do yourself harm. Also in the elderly people observe various atypical manifestations of appendicitis, which science has so far failed to systematize. Therefore, it is recommended to visit a doctor at any doubtful signs, undergo a check and a full range of studies. This will determine whether the appendix has become infected, and also to identify associated pathologies.