Inflammatory bowel disease is the collective name of several disorders that make the intestines inflamed (swollen and red). The inflammation can last for a very long time and can in some cases seemingly subsist only to resurface at a later time.

You may experience symptoms such as abdominal pain and cramping, vomiting, weight loss, diarrhea, rectal bleeding and/or bleeding of your intestines. These symptoms are akin to those an intestinal virus and are sometimes Inflammatory Bowel Disease is not readily diagnosed.

The two main types of inflammatory bowel disease are Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's disease.

Ulcerative colitis is a condition that typically causes ulcers in the lower portion of the large intestine, usually beginning at the rectum.

Crohn's disease typically causes ulcers along the small and large intestines, and can either pass over the rectum or cause severe infection and inflammation with drainage around the rectum.

Diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Depending on your specific symptoms, your physician may want run tests to see if you have ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. A stool sample will be tested for the presence of blood and germs. A doctor will also look inside your intestines with either a colonoscope or a sigmoidoscope. As a part of these tests, the physician will employ a flexible narrow tube to see directly inside your intestines for examination. A doctor may also see fit to use special barium enema X-rays during his diagnosis.

Crohn's Disease

With the publishing of their breakthrough paper in 1932, Dr. Leon Ginzburg, Dr. Gordon D. Oppnheimer, and Dr. Burrill B. Crohn brought to light the medical characteristics of the illness we now call Crohn?s disease. Both Crohn?s disease and ulcerative colitis make up the primary branches of the group of diseases known as inflammatory bowel disease.

Since both of these illnesses are so alike, approximately ten percent of cases are unable to be properly identified as either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. In both illnesses, there are severe immune system problems. Once white blood cells enter the intestinal lining, they cause persistent inflammation and make harmful chemicals that eventually cause damage to tissue. After this cycle begins, the patient starts to experience the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease.

Crohn's disease usually affects the beginning of the large intestine (the colon) and the end of the small intestine (the ileum), but it can also affects any portion of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. All intestinal layers can be involved, and normal healthy bowel may exist in between patches of diseased bowel. Based on which area is affected, our physician might refer to your sickness by one of several different names, such as Crohn's colitis (inflammation solely of the colon), ileitis (inflammation of both the colon and ileum), etc.

Symptoms of Crohn?s Disease

Symptoms include watery, loose, or frequent bowel movements. Other symptoms are cramps, fever, abdominal pain, fever, and possibly rectal bleeding. Loss of appetite and subsequent weight loss can occur. Individuals may also experience joint pains, fatigue and skin problems. Some individuals can develop fissures (tears in the lining of the lining of the anus) which can cause bleeding and pain, typically during bowel movements. Inflammation can also bring about the formation of a fistula, a tunnel that leads from a portion of intestine to the skin, vagina, bladder, or the anus(most common). If a fistula forms, an patient might notice drainage of stool, pus, or mucous from the affected orifice. Crohn's disease is a chronic disease so individuals will experience times when the symptoms of the disease flare up, followed by periods of remission. These symptoms can range from mild to severe depending on the individual. Usually, however, patients suffering from Crohn's disease lead normally active and productive lives.

Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory disease of the colon. Ulceration and inflammation of the colon's inner-most lining are the main characteristics of the illness. Typical symptoms are diarrhea, which can sometimes be bloody, and, quite often, abdominal pain.

Ulcerative proctitis is the term for ulcerative colitis when it only affects the lowest portion of the colon, the rectum. When the disease only affects the left side of the colon, it is called limited or distal colitis. If it involves the entire colon, it is termed pancolitis.

Symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis

The foremost symptom of ulcerative colitis is a progressive loosening of the patient?s stool. The stool is usually bloody and can be associated with cramps and abdominal pain with a severe urgency to have a bowel movement. Diarrhea may begin slowly or quite suddenly. In addition, there might be pains in the joints, skin lesions, and failure to grow properly (in children).