Appendicitis

It is not always clear why your appendix gets inflamed. It may be triggered by a blockage caused by hard poo or food.

In older people it can sometimes be caused by a tumour.

Appendicitis usually starts with a pain in your tummy around your belly button. As it gets worse, it moves to the lower right part of your tummy. Other symptoms may include:

• feeling sick (nausea)
• throwing up (vomiting)
• not feeling hungry (loss of appetite)
• fever
• bloating
• runny poos.

If you have appendicitis when you are pregnant you may feel the pain higher up on the right side of your tummy.

If you delay getting treatment for appendicitis, there is a danger your appendix may burst. Complications of a burst appendix include:

• peritonitis — when the bacteria from your burst appendix leak into your tummy and cause the lining to become inflamed and infected
• sepsis — when bacteria from your appendix enter your bloodstream, causing severe infection and inflammation throughout your body
• abscess — a collection of pus that forms when the tissue wall surrounds the appendix to block off the infection.

It can be difficult to diagnose appendicitis as there are a number of possible causes of stomach pain.

Your healthcare provider will ask about your symptoms and examine you. You may have a urine (wee) test and a pregnancy test to rule out other causes of your pain.

If they think you may have appendicitis you may also have further tests including:

• a blood test
• an ultrasound scan or CT scan.

You may need to go to hospital for these tests and to see a specialist if the reason for your pain is not clear.

If you are very unwell or there is a danger your appendix could burst, you may be operated on straight away rather than having more tests.

The most common treatment for appendicitis is surgery.

This is usually done with keyhole surgery (laparoscopic surgery), where instruments are passed through small cuts in your stomach.

Sometimes open surgery is needed, where a larger cut is made. This approach may be needed if your appendix has burst or there are other complications.

If the diagnosis is not clear you might be observed in hospital and given antibiotics to prevent complications. Sometimes your symptoms will go away and you will not need surgery.