Appendicitis in children - By: Groshan Fabiola

Appendicitis is a common digestive condition that can occur at any age. It is known that few of the children younger than 2 years can develop appendicitis. The most common age for developing this condition is between 10 to 30 years.

It is known that almost all children develop abdominal pain. The most common cause for them is constipation that causes a dull pain in the left lower portion of the abdomen. This condition is often associated with very hard stool or absence of stool for one or more days.

Other pediatric abdominal conditions involve illness associated with vomiting and nausea. These conditions are often associated with gastroenteritis or intestinal flu. The pain caused by these problems is intermittent and it is usually located around the umbilicus. Symptoms may also include fever, vomiting or diarrhea. These types of symptoms are unlike appendicitis symptoms because appendicitis pain is constant and it is located in the right lower part of the abdomen.

Children that develop appendicitis will have motion problems while those with abdominal cramps only seek for a comfortable position in bed. With children is much harder than with the adult patients because they can not take the pain that as easy as an adult. In the moment when the abdominal pain cramping subsides the children are able to walk again even though fever occurs. This condition is a bit different from the appendicitis because patients with appendicitis develop both fever and abdominal pain in the same time.

If you notice that your child suffers of abdominal pain you should carefully monitor its symptoms. The symptoms of appendicitis usually start with pain or pain with vomiting. This condition will never begin with fever. In appendicitis patients the pain is generally constant not intermittent as in the intestinal flu. The conclusion is that if your child does not have a constant abdominal pain and if he is having a high fever at the onset of the disease he might not develop appendicitis.

If you are unsure of your child illness you should take him to a doctor. Some routine tests such as a urine test or a blood test might be required. In some cases an image test is required in order to look for evidence of a swollen, inflamed appendix.

It is good to know that these tests will show the exact results in only 80 % of the cases and it is your doctor’s decision if you have to see a surgeon or not.

About the Author

For more resources about appendicitis or even about acute appendicitis please visit this website http://www.appendicitis-center.com/

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