Suspicion of appendicitis in a child can occur with poisoning, overeating and other problems with the gastrointestinal tract. How to determine what exactly disturbs the child, even if the doctors are confusing the symptoms? Diagnosis of inflammation of the appendix in children at the earliest stages is ineffective, especially for children under 3 years old. Features of appendicitis in children are manifested in the similarity of symptoms with other diseases.
Causes of inflammation of the appendix in children
There is an incorrect, and even dangerous, opinion that children can not develop acute appendicitis. In fact, it occurs even in toddlers of the first month of life.
The reasons may be:
- clogging the appendix, while the bacteria in the process are isolated and inflamed;
- various diseases (tonsillitis, SARS, otitis, etc.);
- decreased immunity. Since the body is weakened, it can no longer resist the viruses. Therefore, the infection freely penetrates the appendix, which causes its inflammation.
Signs and complications
The first signs of appendicitis in children, which manifest immediately - vomiting, diarrhea, as the intestine is not able to work normally. Complications are characterized by the appearance of acute pain throughout the abdomen, and after 12-24 hours the pain intensifies, which helps the doctor recognize acute appendicitis in children.
If the appendix is not typical, the baby will complain of back pain, in the rectum. Urine descaling is more frequent in the pelvic location of the appendix. They are accompanied by severe pain in the abdomen. In the subhepatic location of the appendage, pain will appear in the region of the stomach, later it will pass to the right side of the abdomen.
In children up to three years of pain, most often, is not concentrated in a particular place. Inflammation can be assumed only by changing the behavior of the baby - it is characterized by excessive tearfulness, refusal of food, can be accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea and fever to 39-39.5 degrees. The condition will deteriorate, the child will not let you touch the stomach. The mucous membranes of the mouth and tongue are dry. Dehydration of the body comes.
In children from three to seven years of behavior is different: they can already complain of pain in the navel. Then it moves to the right iliac region. The pain will be constant, not strong, can provoke a single attack of vomiting. The temperature rises no higher than 37.5 degrees, and may even remain at normal level.
If the purulent processes develop in the appendix, the child will suddenly feel bad, his condition will deteriorate rapidly: thirst appears, the skin starts to become gray, lips and the mucous membrane of the mouth - dry. The temperature can jump to 38-39 degrees. Nausea, vomiting and loose stool will also be present.
If you do not intervene in time in 25-50% of children, the walls of the appendix are broken and all intestinal bacteria, mucus, feces filling the abdominal cavity create conditions for the development of infection. Other complications such as the development of intestinal obstruction, abscess, and infectious diseases can occur.
When to beat the alarm?
As soon as a set of such syndromes, such as lack of appetite,
Treatment of appendicitis in children
To make the correct diagnosis, the child takes blood from the finger, examines the discharge and determines the pain area. In order to conduct a dynamic observation, the duration of which is from 6 to 12 hours, you are hospitalized.
Then doctors decide on the need for surgery. After surgery, the baby will be released home after 4-8 days.