Is It Appendicitis or Something Else?

Staff
By Staff
3 Min Read

A study that looked at appendectomies over 10 years suggested that more than 8 percent of those performed were conducted on patients who didn’t have appendicitis.

This is because several other health issues can cause pain that’s localized in your lower right abdominal area, making an accurate diagnosis of appendicitis difficult without using blood or imaging tests, such as a computed tomography (CT) scan or an ultrasound.

Ovulation Pain

For women, ovulation pain occurs on either the right or left side of the lower abdomen and can sometimes feel like appendicitis pain. The pain is different in that it doesn’t start near the belly button, nor does it get worse with movement.

Constipation

Constipation can cause pain localized in the lower right abdomen, as well as rebound tenderness. But the constipation starts before the abdominal pain, unlike when you have appendicitis — though constipation can be a symptom of appendicitis.

Kidney Infection

A kidney infection can be another cause of lower right abdominal pain — if the right kidney is infected — but this also causes groin pain, back pain, and painful urination.

Kidney Stones

Pain from kidney stones can spread to the lower right abdomen, though it doesn’t start at the belly button; it usually starts below the ribs on one of your sides and back. It also usually comes in waves.

Ovarian Cysts

Ovarian cysts often come with no noticeable symptoms, but for some women, pain can develop. Pain caused by ovarian cysts can be either dull or sharp, intermittent or constant, mild or severe. Sometimes it can be so bad that it causes nausea and vomiting, which are symptoms similar to appendicitis.

Ovarian cysts are also often on one side, depending on which ovary is housing the cyst. If the cyst and thus pain are on the right side, it could be very difficult to determine if the pain is due to an ovarian cyst or appendicitis.

Ectopic Pregnancy

Ectopic pregnancy, in which a fertilized egg gets implanted outside the uterus, can result in right-sided abdominal pain.

Unlike appendicitis, ectopic pregnancy is often marked by cramp-like pain, and sometimes even shoulder and neck pain.

Vaginal bleeding is also a common symptom of an ectopic pregnancy.

Other Common Causes of Abdominal Pain

Aside from appendicitis, some of the most common causes of abdominal pain include:

Your primary care provider — or if symptoms are severe, an emergency room physician — can order lab work and other tests to help determine what is causing your symptoms.

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