When your appendix bursts (ruptures), it typically follows untreated appendicitis, which starts with abdominal pain around the belly button that later shifts to the lower right abdomen and worsens over time. The rupture causes a sudden release of bacteria and pus into the abdominal cavity, leading to severe symptoms. What it feels like when your appendix bursts:
- You may initially feel a brief relief from the intense localized pain because the pressure inside the appendix is released. However, this relief is short-lived
- Soon after, you experience severe, constant, and widespread abdominal pain that is more intense than before and involves the entire abdomen, not just the lower right side
- The abdomen may become very tender and rigid, often described as a sharp, stabbing pain that worsens with movement, coughing, or deep breaths
- Additional symptoms include high fever, chills, weakness, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite
- You may also experience signs of serious complications such as peritonitis (inflammation of the abdominal lining), which causes severe abdominal pain, fever, rapid heartbeat, and difficulty breathing
- Other serious signs include septicemia (blood infection), which can cause confusion, low blood pressure, and extreme weakness
In summary, a burst appendix causes sudden, severe, and widespread abdominal pain accompanied by fever, chills, nausea, and systemic symptoms of infection. It is a medical emergency requiring immediate treatment
