What are the symptoms of acute appendicitis in children?

Some children always have severe stomach pain suddenly. Many parents don’t understand why they suddenly have stomach pain when they were fine just now? In fact, most of these conditions are acute appendicitis. If a child has acute appendicitis, he or she should be sent to the hospital in time, because if it is serious, it may cause the child to go into shock. So what are the symptoms of acute appendicitis?

Clinical manifestations of acute appendicitis in children:

1. Abdominal pain: Due to the difficulty in taking and narrating the medical history, the typical history of metastatic abdominal pain is often not obtained. The abdominal pain is widespread, and sometimes abdominal pain is not the first symptom.

2. Digestive tract symptoms are often obvious and prominent. Vomiting is often the first symptom. The vomiting is severe and lasts for a long time. Dehydration and acidosis may occur due to massive vomiting and inability to eat. Diarrhea may sometimes occur, but constipation is rare. Diarrhea is caused by intestinal inflammation stimulating excessive intestinal peristalsis.

3. Systemic symptoms are more serious, with fever occurring early and reaching 39-40°C, and even seizures, high fever, convulsions, and twitching. This is due to the instability of the child's body temperature center and the severe inflammatory response.

4. Tenderness and muscle tension. Tenderness points are mostly above McBurney's point. The cecum of infants and young children is located high and has great mobility, so the tenderness point is biased toward the upper and inner part. Children have thin abdominal walls and are uncooperative, so it is not easy to judge whether there is muscle tension. Patient, gentle and careful examination should be conducted, and comparative examinations should be performed up and down and left and right.

5. Abdominal distension and weakened bowel sounds Due to early peritoneal exudation, gastrointestinal function is inhibited, so abdominal distension and weakened bowel sounds are more prominent.

6. Upper respiratory tract symptoms The incidence of upper respiratory tract infections in children is relatively high. These diseases may be the cause of acute appendicitis in children. Therefore, children often have upper respiratory tract diseases first and then have clinical manifestations of acute appendicitis.

After reading the above introduction about acute appendicitis, I believe you have a deeper understanding of this disease. If your child has this condition, do not delay. Taking your child to the hospital for treatment in time is the best way. It should be noted that it is more appropriate to take your child to a regular and professional hospital for treatment.