Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Danger to Your Colon Health

Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Danger to Your Colon Health

Unless you're a medical professional, you may not know the difference between inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

They are actually two totally separate colon health issues. Inflammatory bowel disease can encompass many different disorders which irritate the bowel, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Both Crohn's and ulcerative colitis are ulcer-causing conditions. Crohn's refers to ulcers in the intestines and ulcerative colitis means ulcers in the colon.

Irritable Bowl Syndrome or IBS is a condition in the intestines and colon in which the body doesn't properly absorb fluids from the food that passes through it. Sometimes the colon absorbs too much fluid, resulting in constipation. At other times, the colon absorbs too little fluid and the result is diarrhea.

Irritable Bowl Syndrome is also sometimes known as a "spastic colon." The focus of this article will be causes and symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease. For more information on IBS, click on irritable bowel syndrome.

Causes of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Medical researchers have yet to determine the exact causes of inflammatory bowel disease. There's some evidence that the source may be a problem in the immune system.

Others think germs may be involved in some way.

How Do You Know If You Have IBD?

Early on, there are often no cut and dry indications that one is suffering from IBD. But there are some things you'll notice that deserve attention and maybe some investigation by your medical professional. These include frequent urgency to evacuate the bowels, cramping, and stomach pain.

In some cases there can be loose stools with blood. Sometimes you'll notice a reduced appetite.

Dangers of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

If the initial indications of IBD go untreated, complications can follow.

There can be bleeding in the colon and bowel and in some cases, toxic megacolon can be present. Toxic megacolon can be dangerous because is characterized by a very dilated colon and accompanied by abdominal bloating and pain, along with fever and even shock.

Those who are diagnosed with the form of IBD known as ulcerative colitis run a higher risk of developing certain forms of cancer. Other possible complications of IBD include:

Painful joints

Bone loss

Problems with eyes

Problems involving the liver and kidneys

Skin trouble

Anyone experiencing these symptoms should contact their doctor. Your physician has two main means of determining if you have inflammatory bowel disease. The first way to to test stool samples. The other is more complicated. It involves using a camera to see inside the bowels to determine if IBD is present.

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