INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE

Courtesy of Family First Magazine

What is IBD?

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a blanket term for conditions that involve inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the two most common of these conditions. In Crohn’s disease, inflammation may be found anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract and throughout all layers of the bowel wall, causing ulceration and bleeding. Ulcerative colitis differs in that inflammation only occurs in the lining of the large intestine.

Symptoms

Ulcerative colitis is usually accompanied by diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, recurrent fever, and rectal bleeding. Other symptoms may include fatigue, weight loss, joint pain, liver problems, loss of body fluids, and swelling and redness of the eyes.

Symptoms of Crohn’s disease include pain in the abdomen, often in the lower right side, diarrhea, weight loss, and sometimes bleeding.

Both illnesses are chronic and include periods of relapse and remission.

Disease Management

There is no known cure for IBD at this time, but with proper management, most people have a normal life span and many enjoy good quality of life. Typically a treatment plan includes some or all of the following: medical therapy, nutrition, emotional support, and surgery when necessary.

Medications for IBD must be taken regularly---even when the symptoms go away---in order to keep the disease in remission. In addition, certain foods can cause or worsen digestive symptoms, so a nutritional assessment can help develop an adequate diet plan that avoids problematic foods.