What is Diverticulitis?
- By:Fadhrick Pickaso
Diverticulitis is a common digestive disease particularly found in the large intestine Diverticulitis develops from diverticulosis which involves the formation of pouches (diverticula's) on the outside of the colon. Diverticulitis results if one of these diverticula's becomes inflamed.
Causes-What causes diverticulitis are the developments of colonic diverticulums are thought to be a result of raised intraluminal colonic pressures. The sigmoid colon (Section 4) has the smallest diameter of any portion of the colon, and therefore the portion which would be expected to have the highest intraluminal pressure. The postulate that low dietary fiber, particularly non-soluble fiber (also known in older parlance as "roughage) predisposes individuals to biventricular disease is supported within the medical literature
Symptom-The most common Diverticulitis Symptom is abdominal pain. The most common sign is tenderness around the left side of the lower abdomen. If infection is the cause, fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, cramping, and constipation may occur as well. The severity of symptoms depends on the extent of the infection and complications.
Treatments-An initial episode of acute diverticulitis is usually treated with conservative medical management, including bowel rest (i.e. nothing by mouth), IV fluid resuscitation, and broad-spectrum antibiotics which cover anaerobic bacteria and gram-negative rods However, recurring acute attacks or complications, such as peritonitis, abscess, or fistula may require surgery, either immediately or on an elective basis. Upon discharge patients may be placed on a low residue diet. This low-fiber diet gives the colon adequate time to heal without needing to be overworked. Later, patients are placed on a high-fiber diet. There is some evidence this lowers the recurrence rate.
Complications-In complicated diverticulitis, bacteria may subsequently infect the outside of the colon if an inflamed diverticulum's bursts open. If the infection spreads to the lining of the abdominal cavity, (peritoneum), this can cause a potentially fatal peritonitis. Sometimes inflamed diverticula's can cause narrowing of the bowel, leading to an obstruction. Also, the affected part of the colon could adhere to the bladder or other organ in the pelvic cavity, causing a fistula, or abnormal connection between an organ and adjacent structure or organ, in this case the colon and an adjacent organ.
About the author:
Stopdiverticulitis continually makes publications on issues associated with Diverticulitis and Diverticulitis Treatment With his writings on Diverticulitis Diet ,Diverticulitis Treatment, Diverticulitis Symptoms the author demonstrated his deep knowledge in the area.