An Inflamed Appendix

Shared from:

Star 2, Wednesday 11 September 2013

An Inflamed Appendix ... Tell Me About…..Dr. Y.L.M

 Most people believe that the appendix is a remnant of our evolutionary past, and that we no longer need it. Remnant or not, an inflamed appendix can lead to all sorts of trouble.

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.