Peritonitis

Your peritoneum is a thin membrane that lines the inside of your belly (abdomen) and wraps around the organs inside. Peritonitis is the term for inflammation of the peritoneum. The tissues can become inflamed if they’re exposed to irritating or infected body fluids. This usually happens when something inside leaks or breaks. Infection is the most common cause of peritonitis, and it can be very dangerous.

How does peritonitis affect my body?

Your symptoms may vary depending on the type of peritonitis you have. They usually include abdominal pain and swelling. But it’s the complications that you want to watch out for. Since your peritoneum spreads throughout your abdomen and touches many organs, infections in your peritoneum can affect all of these organs. It can also spread to your bloodstream and become systemic throughout your body.

Is peritonitis an emergency?

Peritonitis can be mild to severe, and it can be localized in one place or diffuse throughout your peritoneum. However, healthcare providers always treat peritonitis as an emergency because it can become severe very quickly, especially if it’s infectious. An infection that spreads to your bloodstream (septicemia) can cause your whole body to go into a kind of shock and shut down vital organs (septic shock).