If your child complains of periodic pain in the abdomen, you should pay attention to the nature of the pain, as this may be the beginning of appendicitis. But in order to distinguish between simple abdominal pain and a serious illness, it is necessary to know how the abdomen hurts with appendicitis in children and what are the characteristics of pain.
Parents can often confuse inflammation of appendicitis with usual poisoning , overeating or diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
To be able to recognize appendicitis among other possible diseases in childhood, it is not superfluous to get acquainted with the information how to recognize appendicitis in a teenager. It would seem, at first glance, a harmless disease can conceal a serious danger. Since in the absence of adequate treatment, serious complications are possible, ranging from intestinal obstruction and infections of the abdominal cavity to death in the event of a ruptured appendix.
The first signs of appendicitis in adolescents
Adolescents may have the following symptoms of appendicitis:
- severe abdominal pain;
- pain feels the child constantly and they do not pass with a change in the position of the body;
- nausea, vomiting;
- general weakness;
- decreased appetite;
- lagging of the tongue;
- increase in body temperature to 37 degrees, rarely - up to 39 degrees;
- in some cases, constipation is possible.
It is especially important in time to determine the presence of peritonitis (inflammation of the parietal leaf of the peritoneum) in the adolescent. If an adult has several days to go before the onset of inflammation after the discovery of the first symptoms, then the adolescent has several hours. Therefore, with the slightest suspicion of having an inflammatory appendicitis in your child, you should immediately call an ambulance.
Where does appendicitis hurt?
To distinguish peritonitis in childhood from other diseases, you need to know what pains are with appendicitis and where they are localized.
If you start gently to press on the stomach, then on the right side of it you can feel a small seal. The child may begin to experience acute pain when you press it, which can subside if the hands are removed from the compaction site. If a teenager continues to experience pain in the abdomen, then it really means appendicitis. If the stomach hurts the teenage girl, then the mother should find out how long she had menstruation. Because a similar pain can be noted and when the onset of menstruation.
How to help a child with appendicitis?
In order to facilitate the condition of the child before the ambulance arrives, you can put a cold towel on your stomach. This will reduce pain a little.
It is forbidden to do the following:
- an enema;
- apply a hot water bottle with hot water: this accelerates the development of the inflammatory process;
- give painkiller: the use of any medicines before the examination of the doctor makes it difficult to diagnose;
- feed: you can offer your child sweetened water.
Most often, appendicitis is surgically removed in a hospital setting.
Parents should remember that inflammation of appendicitis is a serious danger for the child, because it is fraught with various complications. Sometimes a teenager can try to ignore the pain at home, hoping for "maybe", or afraid to tell his parents. Parents should explain to the teenager that ignoring the pain will not bring relief. As a result, only precious time will be lost. Therefore, for any peculiarities of the child's behavior or having at least a few symptoms of the disease, one should seek medical help.