Appendicitis and gallbladder attack both cause severe pain in the abdomen but are actually different from each other. The treatment methods are different and the other symptoms along with abdominal pain help in identifying the disease. There have been many instances when the cause of the pain gets confused with each other even with experienced surgeons. Let us find out how are they different from each other.

Appendicitis:
Appendicitis is the inflammation of the appendix. An appendix is a small finger-shaped organ located in the lower right side of the abdomen connected to the large intestine. It is a serious condition and should not be left untreated to avoid any further health-related issues. Apart from the pain in the abdominal area, the other symptoms include mild fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, loss of appetite, mucous in stools, and frequent urinating. The standard treatment of appendicitis is surgical removal of the appendix. This may be done by the open traditional method or the laparoscopic method. However, the latter is more preferred nowadays.

Gallbladder Attack:
The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ in the upper right side of the abdomen below the right lobe of the liver. It stores bile that helps in the digestion of fats. It gets affected by gallstones or gets inflamed. In case of gallstones, it gets stuck in the bile duct causing discomfort. The other symptoms can include sharp or dull pain in the chest or between the shoulder blades to the right, nausea, vomiting, jaundice, bloating, gas, difficulty in sitting or aking, and diarrhea. It may last for several hours and mostly requires surgical removal of the gallbladder for the treatment of gallstones. Again there are two methods of performing the surgery – open and laparoscopic gallbladder surgery. The laparoscopic method is preferred over the other as it has many advantages. The patient suffers minimal pain, fewer scars and recovers faster in the laparoscopic method.

The most common symptom in both the condition is abdominal pain. In case of appendicitis, the pain is experienced in the lower right side of the abdomen and for a gallbladder attack, the pain is experienced in the upper right side of the abdomen toward the back. Again, the pain is continuous in case of appendicitis while the pain is intermittent in case of a gallbladder attack. Now you know the difference and do not confuse in between the two.