Is That Abdominal Pain Peritonitis?

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March 24, 2011--

Today, according to Google's web banner, is Henry Houdini's 137th birthday and it is befitting to quickly discuss his cause of death (though controversial), peritonitis. Another famous person dying of this ailment was Rudolph Valentino.

Peritonitis is actually a bacterial or fungal infection of the peritoneum, a silk-like membrane that lines your inner abdominal wall and covers the organs within your abdomen.

There are many causes of abdominal pain, and it may not necessarily be peritonitis.

The signs of peritonitis include:

Swelling of the abdomen.
Severe pain and tenderness in the abdomen that becomes worse when the person moves, coughs, or presses on the abdomen. The pain sometimes goes up into the shoulder.
Nausea and vomiting.
A rapid pulse.
Chills and fever.
Rapid breathing.

Although peritonitis is a severe and painful condition, just having abdominal pain does not necessarily mean that you have it . Abdominal pain can be caused by any number of ailments according to the Mayo Clinic, a handful of which are:

Appendicitis
Diverticulitis
Intestinal obstruction
Pancreatitis
Urinary tract infection
Peritonitis

Actually some of these conditions can be precursors to peritonitis, most notably Diverticulitis.

Diverticulitis is a painful condition in which small pouches in the wall of the digestive tract become inflamed or infected. Simply having these pouches is called diverticulosis. Most people are unaware that they have these pouches until they become inflamed and develop diverticulitis. In very severe cases the wall of the intestine may become so infected that it perforates, leading to peritonitis

Other causes can be a ruptured appendix, stomach ulcer or perforated colon. Any of these conditions can allow bacteria to get into the peritoneum through a hole in the gastrointestinal tract.

Whatever the cause, peritonitis requires prompt medical attention to abate the infection. Treatment usually involves antibiotics and, in some cases, surgery. Left untreated, peritonitis can lead to severe, potentially life-threatening infection throughout the body.

Posting date: 03/24/11

Source: Mayo Clinic

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