INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE

Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, mainly refers to two long-term conditions: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis affects only the colon part of the large intestine, but Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the digestive system, from the mouth to the anus.

DIAGNOSIS OF IBD

Inflammatory bowel disease can develop at any age but is usually diagnosed from the teenage years onwards. It is not clear what causes IBD, but you are more likely to get it if you have a family history of the condition. Problems with the immune system can result in the development of IBD. Smokers are twice as likely to get Crohn’s disease than non-smokers.

Symptoms of IBD include pain and cramping in the abdomen, swelling of the abdomen, chronic diarrhoea, weight loss and fatigue. It can also be accompanied by symptoms of infection such as fever, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms can come and go, and patients can have long periods where they are deemed in remission before a severe flare-up of symptoms.

TREATMENT OF IBD

There is no cure for IBD and if you have mild ulcerative colitis, you may not require treatment or only minimal treatment when you have a flare-up. Dietary and lifestyle changes are advised.

Antibiotics and medications to reduce inflammation in the gut or immunosuppressants to reduce the activity of the immune system may be prescribed. If ulcerative colitis is causing severe symptoms that do not improve with medication, then surgery may be necessary to remove the inflamed section of the colon.

A high percentage of those suffering from Crohn’s disease will need surgery to repair the damage it causes, whether that’s removing part of the colon that is inflamed or treating narrowing of the colon, abscesses or fistulas.

Sometimes, it is not possible to reattach the sections of the large intestine and a stoma needs to be created. This is an artificial opening created on the surface of the stomach through which your bowel waste passes into a bag.

The type of surgery you require depends on the extent of damage that has been caused to the bowel.

TREATMENT OF IBD

There is no cure for IBD and if you have mild ulcerative colitis, you may not require treatment or only minimal treatment when you have a flare-up. Dietary and lifestyle changes are advised.

Antibiotics and medications to reduce inflammation in the gut or immunosuppressants to reduce the activity of the immune system may be prescribed. If ulcerative colitis is causing severe symptoms that do not improve with medication, then surgery may be necessary to remove the inflamed section of the colon.

A high percentage of those suffering from Crohn’s disease will need surgery to repair the damage it causes, whether that’s removing part of the colon that is inflamed or treating narrowing of the colon, abscesses or fistulas.

Sometimes, it is not possible to reattach the sections of the large intestine and a stoma needs to be created. This is an artificial opening created on the surface of the stomach through which your bowel waste passes into a bag.

The type of surgery you require depends on the extent of damage that has been caused to the bowel.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

— Does stress cause IBD?

There is no evidence that stress causes IBD, but often patients seek medical intervention after a stressful event has caused a severe flare-up of symptoms of an underlying IBD condition.

— Is Inflammatory Bowel Disease caused by an infection?

The exact cause of IBC is not known but it is thought that a genetic predisposition to IBD could cause someone to react in an abnormal way to an infection, leading to the development of IBD.

— Will I develop cancer as a result of having IBD?

Patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s colitis do have an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer. Patients will undergo regular screening.