APPENDICITIS

Your appendix is a small, finger-shaped pouch connected to your large intestine, in the lower right part of your belly, also called your abdomen. The appendix really has no purpose. So if a kid needs to have it removed, his or her body will work just fine after the operation. Some researchers think that many, many years ago, the appendix was once a useful part of the digestive system, but we don't need it anymore.

When your appendix gets inflamed, or swells up, it's called appendicitis. Both kids and adults can get appendicitis. There isn't always an obvious reason why appendicitis happens. Sometimes it happens after there is an infection in the intestine. Sometimes something causes a blockage in the appendix, then it gets inflamed.

Appendicitis is not contagious. This means you can't catch it from anyone who has it. But there isn't much you can do to prevent appendicitis from happening.
People have different types of symptoms when they have appendicitis. Someone with appendicitis might feel as if he or she is having stomach cramps or really bad indigestion.

Usually, the first symptom is a bellyache around the belly button. Sometimes, vomiting follows. After a few hours, the pains tend to move down to the lower right side of the belly. Sometimes the pain can become sharp and intense in this area — enough to keep a kid up at night.
A person with appendicitis will not feel very hungry and might have a slight fever. Some people do not want to move around because they feel better if they lie down and curl up.