Well, it wasn't exactly first hand as it wasn't me that experienced it. However, it happened to someone very close to me. My brother in law woke up to excruciating pain in his stomach last night which was soon accompanied by vomiting... What we first thought might be a stomach bug was later discovered to be something more serious. 

After a couple hours of him feeling like this, it was decided that this wasn't an ordinary stomach bug and he really needed to get to a hospital. So, he was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night and was prepped for surgery just minutes later as it was discovered right away that his appendix was severely inflamed and very close to bursting, which can be life threatening. 

The doctor told us his condition is known as "appendicitis".

What is appendicitis?

Very simply, appendicitis is defined as:

Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix.

Basically, it is the term given when there is a blockage of the hollow portion of the appendix. The blockage is most commonly caused by a calcified piece of feces. Viral infections, parasites, gallstones, or tumors can also cause a blockage. The blockage then leads to increased pressure and inflammation. If this pressure and inflammation is left untreated, the appendix may burst, releasing bacteria in the body and causing many complications.

Symptoms:

The symptoms generally come on fairly abruptly. Sharp, stabbing pain in the lower right side of the abdomen, accompanied by vomiting, nausea, fever, and/or a lack of appetite are all common. My brother in law had all of these tell-tale symptoms. 

Causes:

As mentioned above, the cause is a blockage of the lower hollow portion of the appendix. This blockage is caused by any number of things listed above, but the most common is calcified fecal matter. 

Sounds gross...how does that happen?

Well, doctors aren't entirely sure but there has been a higher incidence reported in people that have slower bowel movements and longer "transit times" of fecal matter. Cancer and colon polyps also tend to occur at a higher rate in individuals with slower transit times than in the more frequent bowel mover. Therefore, increasing fiber intake is a possible preventative measure although the science proving it is inconclusive at this point.

Treatment:

In most cases surgery will be necessary. In some minor cases, antibiotics alone have treated the symptoms for a period of time, however, there is a 30% recurrence rate within one year of people treated with this approach and they eventually require surgery as well.

Appendicitis occurs most commonly in males and between the ages of 5 and 40. It also tends to occur most commonly in rural areas as well, for unknown reasons. In 2013 appendicitis resulted in 72,000 deaths world wide, which was 10% lower than in the previous 2 decades. 

In the united states there are nearly 300,000 hospital visits per year for appendicitis and it is one of the most frequent diagnosis's of emergency room visits among people ages 5-17.

Now that we learned how this pesky little booger can make us sick, but what exactly does the appendix do anyways?

That is a very good question and up until recently scientists and doctors didn't really know for sure, which is one reason they have been in such a hurry to remove it. However, recent research is showing that the appendix may indeed be a safe haven reservoir for "good bacteria".

Often times when we get sick with a stomach bug or flu, our gut flora (the good bacteria and bad bacteria) gets flushed out by our immune system. When this happens there is no more good bacteria to help keep the gut flora in balance and help keep the immune system operating effectively. 

Enter the appendix.

It is believed that the appendix harbors this good bacteria for such occasions. It releases these good bacteria back into the gut in order to repopulate it and help keep the gut flora in balance. People without their appendix have been shown to be 4X more likely to experience "bad" bacterial overgrowth... Therefore, it stands to reason that the appendix might not be quite the useless little organ that many had once thought!

Back to my personal story...

My brother in law is doing well and is expected to make a full recovery. He may just need to be careful with antibiotics in the future as well as anything that may flush his gut flora. Hopefully medical research can advance on this so that they can find ways to help prevent people from getting recurrent bacterial overgrowth infections once their appendix has been removed. 

Live well my friends!

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendicitis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendix_(anatomy)

Image Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendicitis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendix_(anatomy)

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