How would you cover the relationship between left side pains and Appendicitis?
Appendicitis is a common ailment that so many people must have heard about. The reason why they heard about the ailment might be because a loved one was affected by it or someone very close to one has been affected by it. Sometimes it might even be because one has undergone a surgical operation. Appendicitis based on the opinions of people who have experienced it before is not a very pleasant feeling and this is the more reason why people should be mindful, lest they trivialize it with the thought that the symptoms of it are just an ordinary pain, meanwhile it is the ailment called appendicitis.
It is worthy of mention to note that although with appendicitis, it is possible to get rid of its pains with surgical operations, sometimes the ailment can be life-threatening too. There are instances of people who have died because of appendicitis, but the big question that comes to mind when talking about this ailment is that “The pains on the left side of the stomach, could it be affiliated with appendicitis?”
A Brief Iteration about the Appendix which is in the body
When it comes to the human internal organs, one of those many organs that one needs to take note of is the appendix. It is often said that in comparison to other organs that serve better purposes for man’s health, the appendix does not have a particular function that it serves but should in case anything happens to it, it might become a serious case.
The appendix is described as a little abdominal sac which just occupies a space in the human body without performing any major function for the body. However, most times when the appendix is inflamed or swollen, this is what gives rise to the ailment which is known as appendicitis. It is this inflammation of the appendix that eventually gives rise to the need for a surgical operation in other to remove the appendix and also have the pain alleviated.
Except for the scars that are affiliated with surgeries done on appendicitis, many cases of appendicitis that undergo surgical phases always end up being successful. In many parts of the world on a yearly basis, many people always undergo the surgery and this further adds to the popular nature of the ailment.
The General Conception on Appendicitis
The portion where the appendix would be found is at the place within the stomach where the small intestine meets with the large intestine. In any case, if any kind of food that is undigested affects the opening of the appendix, this would allow the appendix to be filled with a lot of liquid mucus-looking substance. Because of this fact, however, it may become inflamed. Asides from undigested foods, bacteria, and viruses can also affect the appendix and this can cause it to be inflamed.
It should also be noted that if there is any blockage to the blood that flows to the appendix, some part of the appendix would begin to die and this is the reason why bacteria would start sufficing.
The appendix can keep on expanding when this blockage occurs and it would keep on expanding up till the point when it eventually bursts and then the bacteria spread onto the abdominal cavity. When the appendix ruptures, it allows us to combine in a part of the abdomen and this leads to the creation of an abscess. These abscesses could end up leading up to a much deeper ailment.
A Brief Report on the Left Side Pain
The left side of the body is actually also a very delicate area of the body. More particularly, the lower left side of your abdomen is where the end part of the colon lies and sometimes in some women, it is where the left ovary is situated. Most times, pains around the left area of the body may be for so many other reasons that might not add up to a particular ailment and may even clear up after a day or two.
If you had an accident or an injury that led to the pain on the left side of the body, it would be more advisable to go see a doctor as that kind of pain might be an indication of an injury to the inner organs. While the pain on the left side of the body might not mean that you have any serious injury, a pain around the abdominal region to the left could indicate that you have the ailment of abscesses. Some of the other things that might make you consider seeing a medical expert while you feel pains to the left side of your body includes fever, severities to the left side of the body, the swelling up of the abdomen, weight loss and having your skin looking yellow to that region of your body.
Also, it should be noted that the pain to the left side of the abdomen could be caused by what is called the diverticulitis. This could be caused by a weakness to your colon especially when there is a tear to the pouch in the body. Commonly, this kind of pain is caused between people who are in the mid-thirties to the age of forty. It is not common in people who are younger. When the inner pouch is infected, it could cause the diverticulitis.
While there are commonalities with the causes of diverticulitis, it should also be noted that the spots around the colon in the body are weak and where there is too much pressure on that portion of the body, it causes the ailment to it. In alignment with the pains on the left side of the body, if one continuously has constipation or diarrhea, sometimes if one has a change in diet. What one needs to take note of is the fact that if one has pains around the left region of the body and the resultant effect is diverticulitis, there might be a need to be operated upon before one can feel better.
Some of the causes of pain in the lower region of the abdomen include the following:
Gases release
the internal organs of the body are filled with lots of gases. While it is quite normal that gases and belching are a part of one’s digestive routine, there are some other gases that could be caused by swallowing more air than needed, eating too much food, smoking, chewing gums, and disruption of bacteria in the body. If this is the situation then, it is likely that one has an ailment which is the cause of the excessive gases. If it is noted that there is a ceaseless release of gases other than by belching and releasing of gases, it is advisable to go see the doctor for this.
Indigestion
indigestion is what happens after one must have eaten. The internal body organs in the stomach release acids after one must have eaten and while these acids are released in a bid to aid digestion, there are certain times when the acids affect the organs adversely and this leads to pains within the internal organs. It is a trite fact that the pains occur at the lower abdomen region, but sometimes these pains could occur at the left abdomen region. Most times the pains are also followed by some other symptoms in the body and when notices this, it is advisable to go see a doctor.
Hernia
A hernia occurs when one internal organ is trying to push through the muscles around it. Sometimes hernias occur around the abdomen and groin region and this could be a possible cause of pains around the left side of the body. It is advisable at this point to go see a doctor for medical attention.
Read Also: Hernia Symptoms; 13 Early Signs of a Hernia!
Kidney stone
Kidney stone is a problem on their own, but sometimes when the kidney stones move into the kidney region, it causes some major problems for the organ. The stones may cause pain in different areas of the body and also on the left side of the body. It could also cause pains around the rib region to the back of the body and this could be the reason why you experience so many pains too. It is advisable when you note that you have too many pains around the body down to the rib cage region that you go see a doctor clarify things about the pains. This would help to avoid some intense situations that are caused by kidney stones.
Read Also: Kidney Stone Symptoms; 7 Signs and Symptoms of Kidney Stones!
Also, there are shingles that occur while one ages, especially when one has had chicken pox while growing up. Sometimes the virus stays around in the body and then it sits atop an organ while one begins to feel some intense pains. In some people, the shingles occur as rashes on the body, in some others it is both rashes and pains, but in some cases when you experience pains around your left side, it is possibly caused by shingles in the body. These shingles could be lowered by some vaccines which have been created to lower the effect of the shingles on the internal organs and it could go a longer extent to help reduce the spread of the shingles to more delicate organs.
The essential point now is that while left region pains could be a possible indication of appendicitis, it is worthy of mention to note that it could also be an indication of other kinds of ailments and so the doctor or medical expert is the one who could best give the proper advice when it comes to such kinds of pains.
The signs and symptoms of Appendicitis
As earlier noted, appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix, especially from the region that extends to the large intestine. In more recent times, some researchers have indicated that the appendix, could have a little function that it serves in the body and one of the functions that it serves is the fact that it could help one with immunities. It has also been said that while one might not clearly know the essence of the appendix in the body, it is also possible that one lives all of his or her life without the use of the appendix as the absence of it does not pose any serious consequence on the human health. Although appendicitis can occur when one is at the age of 2, it should also be noted that the people within the age bracket which are majorly affected by appendicitis are those between the age of 10 to 30.
The common causes of appendicitis include the blockage of the appendix, stools, a foreign body, cancer, and also infection.
The possible signs and symptoms of appendicitis include
- Dull pain around the navel area and also to the upper abdomen region most times this pain occurs in the lower right side of the abdomen and this could also be to the left. It depends largely on the variability of the human body as our bodies have the ability to change. This is most times the first symptom that appendicitis has.
- The second symptom of appendicitis is the loss of appetite and this loss of appetite is often times incessant and with an impact on the health of man. When one does not eat with appendicitis it leads to the overflow of the bacteria in the case of an infection and this could lead to more extremities.
- The next sign is that when appendicitis starts, it leads to excessive nausea and throwing up of meals, and incessant while to sleep at all times. This phase could also come with a bit of dizziness in some people and this is where it starts getting intense.
- The next sign that one would see is the sign of swelling along the abdominal region and this swelling could extend to any side of the stomach as swelling comes and goes from time to time. At this point, one could feel as if the abdominal region while being swollen is breathing. This is the phase where it becomes obvious that there are excess abscesses around the abdominal region and thus a need to see a medical expert.
- At this stage, there is the symptom of fever that could weaken one like it does with malaria. The only difference here is that the fever is far more heightened than that of the malaria ailment.
- The next sign is that one begins to feel like defecating and also using the toilet but the pains and the feverish condition would not let one use the toilet.
Other signs of appendicitis in the body
While the above are the common signs of appendicitis, the signs are not limited to those. Some other signs that one has is the appendicitis include
- Dull or sharp pains from the back and the groin areas and also other sides of the stomach.
- There is also the sign of painful urination and passing out of excreta. At this point it does not feel like just appendicitis but also a kind of sexually transmitted infection. For some people this is the point where it becomes obvious that they need to see a medical expert in time
- There is also the sign of severities when it comes to releasing gases as well as having bodily cramps and also around the stomach region.
It is worthy of mention to note that while these are early signs and symptoms, it is necessary for one to see a medical expert in time as this could lead to more complexities that could have one in the hospital for a longer period of time. While it is said that appendicitis can be treated, it is also good to have it treated in time and also avoid the urge to take pain killers which could end up adding to an inflamed appendix and also the possibility of having the appendix ruptured. While the appendix could be treated when inflamed the case become far worse when the appendix is ruptured and prone to infections.
The best possible ways to diagnose appendicitis
While it is true that appendicitis has some symptoms, some of those symptoms that are affiliated with appendicitis can also be affiliated with other infections and this is the more reason why one needs to get an early diagnosis so that it is clear what one is treating. Self-medication might help at the initial stage, but self-medication might not be advisable when all of the above consequences are obvious. It would be best to go see an expert. The symptoms that are obvious for appendicitis can also be the same symptoms for ailments like gall bladder infections, intestinal infections amongst others.
The following are the best ways to better diagnose appendicitis:
- The first is the use of the laboratory or ultrasound scan. This would best be able to detect the cause of the symptoms medically and this has been more perused by those who go to see a medical expert.
- The second kind of test for diagnosis is the use of the urine test which would be used to checkmate if it is a sexually transmitted infection, a urinary tract infection or the appendicitis. This test could be conducted medically or one could try this while one uses the restroom.
- The next test is to examine the abdominal area in other to detect inflammation of the appendix. This could be done by softly pressing upon the areas around the abdomen and the appendicitis is often checkmated with the pains that one feels while the area is pressed upon.
- The blood test could also be conducted and the major reason why this is conducted is to see if the body is trying its best possible to counter all forms of internal ailments. As is done with other forms of obvious ailments, this test could showcase if one has appendicitis or not.
How then is appendicitis treated?
The most common way to treat appendicitis is by the orthodox technique and it involves the removal of the appendectomy by surgical means. This is the clear-cut case with many of the treatments but sometimes it gets a little out of hand when the abscesses within the abdominal region are filled with pus and liquid substances. It is at this point that it is trite to remove the appendix in other to avoid further rupture or technicalities to the appendix.
In more recent times, however, it has been stated that new research has surfaced which indicates that there is a way that appendicitis can be treated without resorting to surgical operations but this treatment method utilizes some antibiotics which were made for the purpose of removing worse case scenarios of appendicitis. The research has also answered the questions that many people have about the prevention of appendicitis. The research has stated that there is no way that one can totally prevent appendicitis but appendicitis can best be prevented if one eats lots of vegetables and fruits.
Conclusion
There are so many people that complain about the pains on the left side of their body and their complaints are major because they have a fear that the pains may be an indication that they have appendicitis. While it is possible that it could be a clear-cut indication of the likelihood of appendicitis, it should also be noted that there are some other ailments that can stem from the pains on the left side of the body. On the other hand, also, appendicitis could pose a few pains on the left side of the body but the major areas in which appendicitis affects is the abdomen region. This goes further to corroborate the fact that not all left side pains are indicators of appendicitis.