When do I need antibiotics?

Antibiotics are drugs that can be used against inflammation caused by bacteria. Depending on the cause of appendicitis, the use of antibiotics can be useful. If the appendix is blocked by faecal matter, kinking or foreign bodies such as fruit stones, bacterial inflammation of the appendix can occur.

In mild cases of appendicitis, it may be advisable to give antibiotics to those affected and thus fight the infection. In this situation the risks of surgery would be eliminated. In complicated cases, however, in which there is a possible risk of a perforation and thus a life-threatening peritonitis, the appendix should be surgically removed.

Antibiotics can also be used after the removal of an appendix, for example in the case of wound infections. Depending on which bacterial pathogens are responsible for the inflammation, different antibiotics can be used. Betalactam antibiotics, which prevent the bacteria from building up a cell wall, are usually used.

Amoxicillin is often administered together with clavulanic acid. The antibiotic cefotaxime can also be used. As soon as symptoms occur, the affected person should consult a doctor and the decision whether and if so, which antibiotic should be used, should then be left to the doctor.

Home remedies

If appendicitis is present, the appendix should definitely be removed surgically, as there is a risk of life-threatening peritonitis. There are, however, various home remedies available to relieve the symptoms of appendicitis. Castor oil, for example, stimulates digestion and can be taken in case of constipation or applied to the abdomen as a compress. Ginger tea and garlic have anti-inflammatory properties and can help relieve pain and nausea in appendicitis. Lemon and mint can also stimulate digestion and reduce pain.

Appendicitis in children

Appendicitis in children is of great importance, as the majority of observed cases occur in children and adolescents. Every year in Germany about 28,000 children up to 15 years of age go to hospital for appendicitis, 38% of all appendectomies are performed in the group of 5 to 19 year olds. Children under the age of two do not usually fall ill, boys are more frequently affected than girls.

However, the diagnosis is often more difficult in children than in adults. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that a child complains more often about abdominal pain, which is usually harmless. Parents can therefore dismiss the child’s pain as banal when the problem is more serious.

On the other hand, a child cannot communicate in the same differentiated way as older people. However, the type and occurrence of the pain are important indications for suspecting appendicitis. However, one will quickly notice whether it is normal abdominal pain or whether the child is writhing in pain.

If the pain persists for more than three hours and becomes more severe, the frequency of this illness in the child should be clarified. Other typical signs of appendicitis in children are a pronounced sensitivity to touch and refusal to eat. Even if a child plays less than normal, this can be interpreted as a sign of appendicitis.

Curved walking and lying is observed in children to relax the tense and painful abdominal wall. This defensive tension does not occur, for example, in gastrointestinal infections. Fever is often added.

In small children, the symptoms may be weaker, which makes the diagnosis even more difficult. In any case, it is important to always observe abdominal pain in the child and to pay attention to the child’s behaviour. The treatment always consists of an operation in which the appendix is removed. Nowadays, in contrast to the open surgery that used to be common, minimally invasive “keyhole surgery” is used. Appendicitis can be treated well by making just a small incision, usually at the navel without a scar that is visible later.