Star 2, Wednesday 11 September 2013
An Inflamed Appendix ... Tell Me
About…..Dr. Y.L.M
Appendix is situated at the junction of
the small intestine and large intestine. It is a thin tube measuring about 4
inches long. For majority of people, the appendix sits in the lower right part
of their abdomen.
The appendix is hollow like a tube and
drains out into the caecum which is the first part of the large intestine. The
appendix virtually does nothing at all for the body. Some scientist postulate
that the appendix acts to store “good” bacteria, therefore “jump-starting” our
system with this bacteria after we have experienced diarrhoea.
Appendix has caused many problems and
many admissions to the hospitals. Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix.
It usually occurs when bacteria invades and inflames the walls of the appendix.
Doctors think appendicitis occurs when:
-
The opening of the appendix(which
drains to the caecum) is blocked to build up of the thick mucous inside the
appendix
-
Or maybe due to a solid stool which has
entered the appendix
-
When blockage occur, the good bacteria inside
the appendix have nowhere to go, and they multiply and invade the appendix wall
-
The appendix can swell into such as
huge proportions that it can rapture.
Rapture
can cause the bacteria to spread throughout the abdomen, thus causing a more
widespread infection to occur.
When appendicitis occurs, most people will experiences abdominal pain. The pain is often poorly localized and diffused around the abdomen. The pain maybe associated with loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. As the inflammation progresses the pain is confined in a small area between the right hip bone and the belly button. If the appendix should rapture, the pain becomes diffused and the entire abdomen can become tender. It is usual to have a fever as well.
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