Appendicitis can be tricky to diagnose unless you have the typical symptoms, which are only present in about half of all cases.

Also, some people's appendix may be located in a slightly different part of their body, such as the pelvis, behind the large intestine or behind the liver.

Some people develop pain similar to appendicitis, but it's caused by something else, such as a bladder or urine infection, Crohn's disease or gastroenteritis.

Your GP will ask about your symptoms, examine your abdomen and see if the pain gets worse when pressure is applied to the appendix area (your lower right-hand side).

If your symptoms are typical of appendicitis, this is normally enough for your GP to make a confident diagnosis, in which case you will be referred immediately to hospital for treatment.

Further tests

However, if your symptoms are not typical, further tests may be required in hospital to confirm the diagnosis and rule out other conditions.

Further tests may involve: 

• a blood test to look for signs of infection
• a urine test to rule out other conditions, such as a bladder infection
• a computerised tomography (CT) scan or an ultrasound scan to see if the appendix is swollen
• a pregnancy test for women

It can sometimes take several days to get test results. Therefore it is likely you will be advised to have your appendix removed if appendicitis is suspected, rather than run the risk of it bursting. This means that some people will have their appendix removed even though it is eventually found to be normal.

In some cases where a diagnosis is not certain, a doctor may recommend waiting up to 24 hours to see if your symptoms improve, stay the same, or get worse.

If your doctor suspects that your appendix has burst, you will be sent to hospital immediately for treatment.

Read more about treating appendicitis.