The symptoms of acute appendicitis may be varied and at least initially vague:
Anorexia - Early in the course of acute appendicitis the patient loses their appetite for food.
It is unlikely that a patient with an appetite has acute appendicitis.
Nausea - Following the loss of appetite, the patient may develop nausea. Vomiting may occur, but frequent vomiting is not usually a feature of acute appendicitis.
Abdominal pain - Initially the pain is vague and poorly localised around the umbilical area. With time the pain becomes more marked and more specifically located in the region of the appendix.
If the appendix is located in the normal position the pain is felt in the lower right abdomen, although if located abnormally, the pain will be felt elsewhere.