Inflammatory Bowel Diseases And Irritable Bowel Syndrome

There are several inflammatory bowel disease all of which need to be diagnosed by a doctor as well as to be treated by a doctor. Two of the more common inflammatory bowel diseases are ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Irritable bowel syndrome is an intestinal disorder that some people have misconceptions about and call the disease by other names incorrectly such as colitis, mucous colitis, spastic colon, spastic bowel or functional bowel disease. IBS is a functional disorder.

Ulcerative colitis is where the lining of the large intestine (the bowel and the colon) and the rectum become inflamed. The inflammation typically begins in the rectum and the lower intestine (sigmoid) and then spreads upward to the rest of the colon.

The symptoms include diarrhea and frequent need to empty the colon. Ulcers (open sores) form that cause pus, mucus and bleeding. This disease can run in families and usually affects individuals age 15 to 40. Males and females can have this disease. This disease requires long-term care and there may be remissions (periods of no symptoms). Remissions can last for months or even years. Symptoms do return though as it is a long-term disease. The disease is rarely fatal and in those cases fatality is due to complications. The risk for individuals with ulcerative colitis to get colon cancer is no higher than anyone else.

Individual with ulcerative colitis can experience different symptoms but the most common ones are: abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, anemia which is caused by the rectal bleeding, fatigue, loss of body fluids and nutrients, weight loss, and also loss of appetite.

Individuals with ulcerative colitis may also experience anemia, inflammation of the eyes, liver disorders, osteoporosis, joint pain, skin lesions, rashes and kidney stones.

Crohn's disease:
This is a chronic condition that involves the small intestine. Inflammation may involve the entire digestive tract, including the mouth, esophagus, stomach, appendix, duodenum and also the anus. You may also hear Crohn's disease called ileitis or enteritis. Crohn's disease runs in families, and occurs in both males and females.

The symptoms are abdominal pain, usually in the lower right area of the abdomen, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, and fever and weight loss.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS):
An individual with IBS may experience cramps, gas, bloating, and also changes in their normal bowel habits. Stress may worsen IBS but it does not cause it.

IBS does NOT cause permanent harm to the intestines; it does not lead to intestinal bleeding of the bowel and does not lead to any serious disease such as cancer. There is also NO link between IBS and Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

The person with IBS has a more sensitive colon than the average person. It does not take much for the colon to spasm when the person has IBS. Women who have IBS tend to have more symptoms during their period, which may mean that the reproductive hormones have something to do with increased IBS symptoms.

There are triggers for IBS including diet and stress.