Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) involves the chronic inflammation of all or part of the digestive tract. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the most common types of inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn’s disease causes inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract and often spreads deep into the affected tissues. Crohn’s disease can affect the small intestine, large intestine or both. Ulcerative colitis causes long lasting inflammation and ulcers in the inner lining of the large intestine and rectum.
Symptoms of IBD include blood in stool, severe diarrhea, pain, fatigue and weight loss. IBD can be debilitating to affected individuals and in some cases, can lead to life-threatening complications. The blood found in stool can range from bright red to black depending on the affected area, it is also possible that the bleeding is not visible.
IBD is commonly treated with a mixture of lifestyle changes and a combination of medications that can include, anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, antibiotics and/or immune system depressors. In severe cases, surgery is required to remove the affected areas.
