Gastroenteritis, pain due to gases in the intestines, appendiciti … If your child has a stomach ache, the possible causes explaining his pain are numerous. To rule out the risk of appendicitis, there is an easy to perform test, recommended by a pediatrician and reported in the New York Postby a mother.
Appendicitis, inflammation of the appendix in question
The appendix is an outgrowth of the colonist, our big intestine. In the event of inflammation because of a virus, a bacteria or a parasite, we speak of appendicitis, a pathology which sometimes requires its ablation, by a surgical operation.
If acute appendicitis is not taken care of quickly, the appendix can break and cause peritonitis, a serious infection of the entire abdominal cavity which can be very serious.
To see too
Video adult appendicitis: pain, symptoms, treatments and operation
Video What follow -up after an appendicitis operation?
Location: Where is the appendix?
The appendix is a natural diverticulum that extends the CCUM (between the small intestine and the right colon).
Symptoms: How to know if you have an acute appendicitis crisis (child, adult)?
Pain on the right side, fever, diarrhea … the main signs
The clinical picture often starts brutally in the patient, with:
- Acute pain located in the right iliac pit, the right right of the abdomen, near the umbilicus. This pain is intense, occurs in crises and can extend downwards or the root of the right thigh.
- Episodes of nausea, sometimes accompanied by vomiting of food or bilious origin, but the latter can remain discreet.
- A light to moderate fever, generally around 38.5 ° C, often accompanied by an acceleration of the heart rate.
- A loss of appetite.
- A language that has a whitish coating, while the facial expression remains relatively normal, without apparent sign of fatigue.
- It is not uncommon to note associated constipation, generated by intestinal occlusion.
- More rarely, diarrhea.
- The general state can be altered according to the evolution of the table.
How are the stools in case of appendicitis?
In general, appendicitis is associated with constipation.
Does appendicitis hurt when you press?
Pain in the pressure of the right iliac false is the most typical sign of appendicitis.
The jump test, to assess the presence of appendicitis
In the article of New York Postfaced with her child’s pains, the mother says that her pediatrician gave him the following advice: “If you want to check an appendicite, you can take the jump test“. It is a question of blowing up the child on the spot and seeing if his pain increases sharply. If this is not the case, this is probably not appendicitis.
A test that works seven times out of ten for the diagnosis
Although it is not always precise, this test allows to know about 70 % approximately if you are faced with appendicitis. According to Jennifer Shu, a pediatrician installed in Georgia, in the United States, “iThere are studies on the jump test. If you have a sign of positive jump, there are 70 % chance that it will be an appendicitis. So it’s not perfect, but the results are quite good all the same “.
Why does this test work? Because during an appendicitis, the abdominal wall around is also inflammatory, which causes greater pain during walking or jumps. To test therefore, during your child’s next stomach ache.
Appendicitis treatment
This is a medical emergency to avoid the risk of perforation of the abdomen. The main treatment of appendicitis is based on appendectomy (withdrawal of the appendix). Surgical intervention is most often carried out by Coelioscopy, under general anesthesia.