Diverticulitis is known as a western disease and extremely common
Diverticulitis occurs when the bulging sacs that appear in the lining of your large intestine, or colon, get acutely infected or inflamed.
The most common and severe symptom is sudden pain on the lower left side of the abdomen.
Drinking plenty of water and eating fibre-rich foods can help you avoid diverticulitis.
Diverticula are bulging sacs or small blisters that appear in the lining of your large intestine, or colon. This condition is called diverticulosis when the sacs first appear but aren’t yet inflamed or infected. When these sacs get acutely infected or inflamed, it’s called diverticulitis.
Diverticula are most common in the large intestine. However, they can develop anywhere in your digestive tract. Pain in the lower left side of your abdomen may indicate diverticulitis, especially when it’s accompanied by rectal bleeding as any rectal bleeding should be checked out by your doctor as there are a number of other conditions that cause this. Diverticulitis is treatable, but it can recur. Diverticulosis and recurring attacks of diverticulitis are the two components of diverticular disease.
Prevention is better than cure
Not eating enough fibre is a common problem in countries where much of the population eats processed foods.Eating more fibre, fresh vegetables and bran products can help.
Water is also important most people do not consume enough water is essential for all body processes
Constipation puts strain on your muscles during a bowel movement. Constant strain can increase your risk of developing diverticula in your colon. Once diverticula appear, it’s much more likely that bacterial infections or stool can get into the diverticula and inflame or infect them, causing diverticulitis.
Being obese increases your risk of getting diverticulitis. Studies have shown that a high body mass index (BMI) and waist measurement contributed to diverticular bleeding and diverticulitis.
Regular exercise is important to keep the abdominal muscles toned, this aids digestion and peristalsis i.e passage of food processed through the gut
People aged over 60 are more likely to develop diverticulitis, this could be related to the weakening of the bowels over time.
Symptoms
Sudden pain on the lower left side of the abdomen is the most common and most severe sign of diverticulitis. This pain can get worse over a few days.Other signs of diverticulitis are:
• abdominal pain and tenderness, usually on the lower left side
• nausea
• vomiting
• constipation
• fever
• gas or bloating
• diarrhea
• loss of appetite
• rectal bleeding that’s usually bright red
Treatment
Because diverticulitis is an infection in the intestines, your doctor will suggest rest, antibiotics, and sometimes prescribe medication to relieve the pain. Often, the conventional remedy requires several days of bed rest while waiting for the infection to subside. It may be possible to relieve the pain associated with diverticulitis within hours, rather than days. An infection of the diverticula is an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria. All bacteria compete for space in the intestinal tract. The more friendly bacteria that are present in the gut, the less prone you are to developing an infection.
Avoid all forms of sugar, even natural sugars as sugar affects the immune system’s response time. Sugar also feeds pathogenic bacteria so its a good idea to take Probiotics especially after and whilst taking antibiotics for antibiotics kill the good bacteria as well as the bad and this can leave an unhealthy balance of bacteria in the gut. Probiotics come in different formats as in capsules taken at mealtimes or as a powder sprinkled onto food and some dairy products has probiotics added to them such as yoghurts.
Eat a diet with your primary source of protein being from fish & vegetables. Stay away from grains, seeds or nuts, as these foods can be hard to digest which results in bloating & gas. Other foods that should be avoided include dairy products, red meat, fried foods, spices, sugar products as well as processed & refined foods. Avoid foods such as celery and corn as these foods contain indigestible roughage and use bran to prevent constipation.
Establish a regular bowel routine by spending at least 10 minutes a day trying to have a bowel movement at approximately the same time.
In rare cases surgery may be needed where parts of the affected intestines require to be removed or an abscess excised
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Astrid Brown (Author)
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