Inflamed Colon
What is an Inflamed Colon?
An Inflammatory Bowel Disease is also the same as an Inflamed Colon or simply Colitis. Inflammatory Bowel Disease is not a lone condition but diseases in different types grouped as one which causes an inflammation in the digestive tract for a long term period. The composition of the digestive tract are; the large and small intestines, mouth, stomach and the esophagus. These organs play a major role in the digestive process for extracting nutrients after the breaking down of food, and take away any waste products and unusable materials. Inflammation along any of these organs distort the normal process which may become sore or painful and sometimes life threatening.
Inflammatory bowel disease usually occurs to younger people rather that the old ones. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are the two major types of an inflamed colon. The disease which includes the large and small intestines is the Crohn’s disease. This is where the lining of both intestines swells and disperses frequently into the affected tissues. Ulcerative colitis involves the rectum and colon. This results to ulcers and a long-lasting inflammation.
The following are also types of colitis:
- Ischemic colitis is a condition where the supply of blood is blocked and hindered causing ischemia.
- Microscopic colitis pertains to a very infrequent condition caused by an autoimmune disorder.
- Infectious colitis is noted when the person ingested some type of food that is considered to be contaminated with bacteria; this will result to a disease.
What are the Symptoms of an Inflamed Colon?
The manifestations of an inflamed colon vary as to how critical it is, ranging from mild to severe and the location of the inflammation. The person with the colitis goes through periods wherein the disease flickers and causes the symptoms, then the symptoms disappear or reduce and a healthy body returns.
Signs and symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease include:
- Pain in the abdomen
- Arthritis
- Muscular spasms
- Inflammation of the eye
- The loss of appetite due to abdominal cramps or inflammation
- Skin disorders
- Diarrhea
- Iron deficiency
- Extreme tiredness of the body
- Fever
- Blood on the stool
- A weight loss that is not intended or even become malnourished due to the improper absorption and digestion of food
What are the Causes of Inflamed Colon?
The accurate cause of an inflamed colon is still uncertain to everyone. Stress and diet may cause some irritation but it does not make the colon to become swollen in appearance. The immune system is somehow connected with colitis. The immune system’s job is for it to shield the body from pathogens but a bacterial infection of the digestive tract may stir up an immune response. This causes an inflammation of the digestive tract as the immune system tries to guard the body from the invaders. When the infection is finally gone, the inflammation also subsides. Scientists concluded that the disease has a genetic component and therefore considered hereditary. A few people with an inflamed colon experience an inflammation in the tract with the absence of infection. This is due to the cells of the body being tackled by the body’s own immune system which is referred to as autoimmunity. Another cause is when an inflammation does not fade away after a cured infection. This will prolong the inflammation with individuals who have an inflamed colon.
Diet for Inflamed Colon
Eating a healthy diet can be a prevention and treatment for an inflamed colon. An individual who is currently suffering from the disease needs a strict diet and is considered a must. The first thing to be done is to keep the body clean. If there are any bad habits like drinking liquid refreshments that can be the reason to have the diarrhea more serious, it should be avoided right away. The person must also avoid foods that are rich in fat and dairy products. The amount of foods rich in fiber should also be limited for it might just provoke the symptoms that are already present.
How is an Inflamed Colon Treated?
No remedies had been found to fully cure and treat the disease but the main goal of the treatment for an inflamed colon is to lessen the signs and symptoms that elicit the inflammation. In most cases, the treatment not only leads to relief of the indications but it also lessens the risk factors of the problems and brings out a long term recovery. Inflammatory bowel disease commonly involves surgery or drug therapy. Physicians either starts with drugs that are milder at the beginning or much potent medications which are given earlier. Since there is no cure yet, researchers still explore for possible treatments since technology becomes more and more advanced.
Treatments for the reduction of the condition include:
- Antibiotics for the prevention and control of the infection.
- Taking anti-inflammatory drugs as step one of the treatment and these could be Corticosteroids or Aminosalicylates.
- Immune system suppressor drugs that targets directly the immune system of the body to restrain the immune response.
- Over-the-counter medications to relieve signs and symptoms recommended by the physician.
- Surgery is the last resort depending on a patient’s condition.
References:
- http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/inflammatory-bowel-disease/basics/definition/con-20034908
- http://www.webmd.com/ibd-crohns-disease/crohns-disease/inflammatory-bowel-syndrome
- http://medicalpoint.org/inflamed-colon/
- Lucendo A et al. (2015). “Systematic Review: The Efficacy of Dietary Treatment for Inducing Disease Remission in Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis.”. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr.
- Sun J et al. (2015). “Association of lymphocytic colitis and lactase deficiency in pediatric population.”. Pathol Res Pract 211 (2): 138–144.
- Melton, GB.; Kiran, RP.; Fazio, VW.; He, J.; Shen, B.; Goldblum, JR.; Achkar, JP.; Lavery, IC.; Remzi, FH. (Jul 2009). “Do preoperative factors predict subsequent diagnosis of Crohn’s disease after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis for ulcerative or indeterminate colitis?”. Colorectal Dis 12 (10): 1026–32.