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Show Your Doctor Says ... The fallowing Is one of tenet of articles written by membert of the Utah State Medical Association and publiihed in cooperation with your local lo-cal newspaper. These articlet are scheduled to appear every other week throughout the year In an elfort to better acquaint you with problems of Ixcalth. and designed to improve the well-being o the peopie o Utah. APPENDICITIS Despite the fact that the number num-ber ot deaths lrom appendicitis has dropped substantially in recent re-cent years, it still remains a serious seri-ous disease which kills several thousand people each year in this country. Ihis seems strange when we consider the fact that we have the facilities, the know-how, the hospitals, and the equipment to reduce tne death rate almost to the zero point. Th principal reason seems to lie in delays in diagnosis and treatment. This is probably due principally to the fact that the public is not educated regarding early stage signs and symptoms of the disease. Hence many do not recognize the possibility of the presence of appendicitis and call a doctor until it is well developed de-veloped and in some cases, too late. It will be the purpose of this article then, to discuss the disease briefly in simple terms so that the readers may get a better understanding of it. The appendix is a small wormlike worm-like structure, usually two .or three inches in length, attached to the first part of the large intestine, in-testine, located in the lower portion por-tion of the right side of the abdomen. abdo-men. It has no known useful function in the human although in some animals it probably participates par-ticipates in digestion as does the rest of the intestine. Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix, and usually starts as an abdominal pain. The pain is either quite generalized in the abdomen or may start in the "pit of the stomach." It is usually dull at the onset and After a few hours the pain tends to settle in the lower right side of the abdomen and at that time the patient or the family, for the first time thinks of the possibility of appendicitis. Soon after the onset on-set of pain there is usually nausea and often vomiting. I Sometimes there Is no vomiting and when present it is rarely severe. Constipation usually develops de-velops after the onset of the pain. Rarely is diarrhea present. If one guesses as to the presence of fever by feeling the forehead, one would usually estimate that the temperature is normal, but if one takes the temperature with a thermometer it will usually be slightly elevated around ninety-nine ninety-nine to one-hundred degrees or a little more. If one presses on the abdomen with the hand, it will be found that there is usually tenderness in the lower right side, which may be detected even before the patient has noted any pain in this area. If a blood count is taken, the number of white blood cells will be found to be increased. Many! people however, have the false idea that the blood count will tell definitely whether appendicitis is present or not. This is not true.! It is a valuable aid but must be considered only one of several indications which may lead one to the correct diagnosis. ' One of the most common errors made is the administration of a laxative in cases of abdominal fain. The patient or mother is ikely to think the pain due to some dietary indiscretion, espe-J cially before the pain settles in the lower right side. Laxatives tend to stir up the intestines and the appendix and may greatly aggravate the condition, leading to rupture of the appendix and spread of the infection. i The only safe treatment of appendicitis ap-pendicitis is surgical removal of the organ. This should be done early in the disease, before it has ruptured. The appendix rarely ruptures within the first few hours of the onset of infection. Some people seem to feel appendicitis ap-pendicitis is no longer dangerous now that we have antibiotics and other valuable drugs to combat infection. Although these drugs are of great value, the danger of appendicitis is still real and patients pa-tients are dying every day despite de-spite them. There is evidence that many people have been lulled in-' to a false sense of security by them until it is too late. I In this caso of abdominal pain which persists rore than two or three, hours call your doctor t"n it t h nam i nnl VArv severe, nor in the right lower abdomen. Do not take laxatives, food or medicines. If your doctor feels that it is a case of appendicitis, do not delay the operation unnecessarily. If this advice is followed 'many lives may be saved. |