Symptoms of appendicitis in women is different from usual stomach pain symptoms. Abdominal pain is somehow very common for women especially during menstruation. However, if it keeps on recurring even after your menstrual period, it could mean an indication of underlying health condition. Several health problems may come into your mind and hardly imagine about your appendix. After all, appendicitis symptoms in women are somehow similar to men. Also, you may have heard lots of myths about appendicitis and a doctor’s visit will only confirm the condition.
Appendicitis excuses no one regardless of gender and age. And it is a condition that must not be taken for granted. Anyway, what is appendicitis and why shouldn’t it be ignored? This article primarily considers appendicitis symptoms in women, the causes and treatment. Read on.
Appendicitis is the condition where the appendix is inflamed characterized by deep abdominal pain. The appendix is a small, pipe-like structure connected to the colon situated on the lower right part of the abdomen. Women often get appendicitis between 10 and 30 years old though it can happen regardless of age and gender. Symptoms of appendicitis should never be ignored because it will result to serious complications. When the appendix ruptures, the infectious fluid will spread out towards the abdominal fissure causing swelling of the abdominal lining. The condition is called peritonitis and is dangerous because the infectious fluid contains bacteria causing other complications like organ failure and even death. That is why appendicitis is the number one abdomen-related surgical emergency.
Appendicitis symptoms in women
Initial appendicitis symptoms in women are characterized by dull and discomforting pain on the belly area that eventually moves and rests on the lower right abdominal side where the appendix is located. The exact area where the appendix rests differs with every individual, thus, appendicitis pain also differs. Another worth noting symptom of appendicitis is that the deep abdominal pain worsens within the duration of 6 to 12 hours. Following the initial pain on the navel area, other appendicitis symptoms in women appear which includes abdominal swelling, fever, reduced appetite, nausea and vomiting. Aside from these, further symptoms may arise including diarrhea, constipation and difficulty in passing gas. The region where the pain rests feels very tender and the pain aggravates when moving around, sneezing, coughing and inhaling deeply. Some even feel what they call tenesmus, the urge to move your bowel to relieve the pain. However, not everyone suffering from appendicitis will display all of these symptoms. Note that any form of medications, be it pain reliever or laxatives, should be avoided in this condition and must instead go directly to the doctor for examination.
Appendicitis symptoms in Pregnant women
Pregnant women may not be excused of getting appendicitis. In fact, diagnosis of appendicitis on pregnant women is more challenging primarily because majority of the symptoms of appendicitis could be associated to fetal development. For instance, pregnant women may not actually feel lower right side abdominal pain simply because the fetus inside the womb actually pushes the appendix going to the upper part of the kidney, hence the pain is felt on the posterior section instead. Thus, even a slight abdominal pain during pregnancy can be considered as appendicitis symptom. Therefore, prompt treatment is initiated before it gets worse.
Causes of Appendicitis in women
Appendicitis occurs when the appendix is blocked by solid fecal substance or waste food causing the pressure to increase, mess up the flow of blood and finally inflammation. These substances will make the environment in the appendix favorable for bacteria that will result to infection. Once the blockage is ignored, it will rupture over time. Another possible cause is digestive tract infection, either viral or bacterial, which can result to inflammation of the lymph node that presses on the appendix resulting to blockage. Moreover, abdominal traumatic injury may sometimes result to appendicitis while it is genetics, intestinal worms and calcified deposit build up for others.
Appendicitis Treatment
Recovery is ascertained when prompt treatment is initiated. There are two appendicitis treatment options to choose from- surgery and medication. Let us consider them one by one.
• Surgery – Chronically swollen appendix is usually treated by surgical removal. Surgical removal of appendix can be executed in two ways, by open surgery and laparoscopy. A small surgical tool, a laparoscope, is inserted inside the abdomen via small incisions. Laparoscope has video camera at the end which will show a magnified picture inside the abdomen to make the surgical procedure easier. On the other hand, open surgery is preferred for ruptured appendix. In such case, the infectious fluid spread throughout the abdomen region and open surgery is the finest way to remove them. In both surgical procedures, appropriate pain relievers are given to help patients manage appendicitis pain before the surgery. However, recovery is much faster with laparoscopy because it only has several small cuts unlike open surgery. Still, the recuperation takes several weeks and physical activity is restricted for more than one month after surgery. Read more about appendicitis surgery.
• Medication – This type of treatment is only initiated for uncertain diagnosis in which the physician assumes that the symptoms have medically curable cause. Oftentimes, antibiotics are given. If the pain is due to infection, then the symptoms can be fixed with intravenous fluids and antibiotics. But, appendicitis is not curable with just antibiotics, surgery is still required. Sometimes, the body’s natural means of controlling the appendiceal damage is through inflammation. The physician may decide to draw off the inflammation first for few weeks and once it has completely drained, then, surgery will be initiated.
Really then, appendicitis should be never be undermined. Although it remains unclear as to the function of the appendix in the human body, once it gets inflamed and ruptures, it is a medical emergency which could be life threatening once treatment is deferred. Appendix removal never cause any change as to the normal functioning of the digestive system, even to your life style. Appendicitis symptoms in women must not be ignored. As statistics show, the condition is quite common among women than men; that is why if you are a woman, be aware of what is happening to your body and if you experience any of the aforementioned appendicitis symptoms in women, do not delay visiting your friendly physician for proper diagnosis so treatment may be initiated right away.
Read about symptoms of appendicitis in children
