Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Complications, Types And Symptoms

When we hear about Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease, we often confuse the terms, there are those who think that both refer to the same thing, however, although their symptoms are similar, what causes the diseases is different.

The Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a functional disorder, meaning that the digestive system appears to be functioning normally, but not always will properly; While inflammatory bowel disease is also a disorder, but in this case it is chronic continuous, where there is inflammation or damage to the structure of the intestine.

Having clarified this point, we can go on to talk about everything related to Inflammatory Bowel Disease; in which the intestine becomes inflamed, and this causes annoying symptoms that we will delve into throughout the article. This inflammatory bowel disease is divided into two diseases with similar symptoms, but they differ in the place where they appear: Crohn ‘s disease is the first, and the second is Ulcerative Colitis.

Although both are inflammatory bowel diseases, each one has its particularity that differentiates it from the other, for example: Crohn’s disease affects the digestive tract, anywhere in it, while ulcerative colitis generally affects only the large intestine.

All the information about inflammatory bowel disease will be very useful, not only for you, but also for you to help any friend or member of your family who suffers from it. This disease affects people regardless of age, that is, it generally begins before the age of 30, commonly from the age of 14; few people have their first outbreak after 50 years.

Index

What do we call inflammatory bowel disease?

It is known as inflammatory bowel disease to chronic bowel disorders, which cause a lot of abdominal pain and unstoppable diarrhea, it usually appears between 15 to 30 years of age without distinction of sex, it can be suffered by both men and women and two are known types: Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Learn more about  Crohn’s disease

Origins of inflammatory bowel disease

The origin of these diseases as a response of the intestinal immune system is not yet fully known; It is considered that it could be due to genetic alterations that usually affect the functioning and ability of the immune system to tolerate commensal bacteria and to control the inflammatory response against these bacteria.

Characteristics of inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease is characterized mainly because two are derived from it: ulcerative colitis, which is manifested by inflammation and ulcers in the lining of the colon, and Crohn’s disease, which is characterized by inflammation of both the colon and the small intestine.

Causes of inflammatory bowel disease

To talk about the exact cause, you have to investigate a lot, because the cause is really unknown, years ago it was considered that stress and diet were those that caused inflammatory bowel disease, but current doctors have confirmed that this is only part of the Factors that aggravate it the most are not what causes it.

There is no doubt that the malfunction of the immune system is a latent cause. When it tries to fight a virus or invading bacteria, the immune response is abnormal , also attacking the cells of the digestive tract; at least it is the explanation that answers this question and has been proven, an autoimmune attack.

It is also currently considered that the cause is due to a hereditary factor, since the disease is more common in people who have relatives with this inflammatory bowel disease. Although it is not entirely safe since there are people who suffer from it and there is no family history of the disease.

How can inflammatory bowel disease be detected?

The inflammatory bowel disease can be detected when the first symptoms suffer, especially if you are between 15 and 35 years old, you must go to the doctor, and he will perform a complete history where you will detail: family history, your habits life such as , for example: tobacco, drugs, alcohol; also about your diet, if you have been taking any drugs and the symptoms you are experiencing.

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Once the medical history has been taken , some diagnostic tests are also prescribed to detect inflammatory bowel disease , which include the following:

  • Stool and blood analysis: these tests will detect abnormal values ​​that indicate anemia, high levels of C-reactive protein, high sedimentation rate and also determine the presence of paracytes or infections.
  • Endoscopy and capsule endoscopy: with these, the degree of involvement of the colon can be known and tissue samples are also taken for analysis, a complete study of the small intestine is also made and the results are more conclusive.
  • An ultrasound: with this, in some cases the place where the inflammatory process is taking place is determined, because through the location other pathologies that have similar symptoms are ruled out.

Among the radiographs that are usually done for this purpose are: CT and magnetic resonance imaging, also abdominal radiographs, with which intestinal obstructions are determined and how affected the digestive system is.

Inflammatory bowel disease and affected organs

It has been mentioned that inflammatory bowel disease is grouped into two diseases that attack different areas, but presenting almost the same symptoms, they are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, both affect the intestine, generally inflaming it in a recurrent way.

In ulcerative colitis , the intestine is affected with inflammation in the mucosa, that is, in the inner skin of the colon (large intestine), while Crohn’s disease affects the entire intestinal wall anywhere in the digestive tract. Very annoying problems occur in the anal area such as fissures, abscesses and fistulas.

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Both diseases can have repercussions on other organs of the body, such as:

  • On the skin: lesions known as erythema nodosum and pyoderma appear, the skin becomes inflamed in the form of nodules.
  • In the eyes: here the complication is known as scleritis, it is an inflammation of the white part of the eye, or uveitis, an inflammation of one of the tissues that are inside the eye covering it.
  • In the joints: These diseases can also cause arthritis.
  • The bones are also affected by sponditis in the spine mainly.
  • The liver : Inflammatory bowel disease also affects this organ with sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic inflammation of the bile ducts.

Types of inflammatory bowel disease

So far we have mentioned a couple of times the two types of inflammatory disease , which are: Crohn’s Disease, and Ulcerative Colitis , both have similarities and differences in terms of their symptoms and the place where they manifest.

Among the differences we see that Crohn’s disease affects the digestive tract without having a specific place, it can affect any part starting from the mouth to the anus, the inflammation that is caused by this disease, ends up damaging the entire intestinal wall.

On the other hand, ulcerative colitis manifests only in the large intestine called the colon, it has the name of ulcerative colitis because it precisely causes ulcers that damage the inner lining of the colon.

Symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease in adults

You are already aware that inflammatory bowel disease can have its first outbreak in adolescence, from 15 years of age, up to 30 or 35, those who are already adults can present symptoms from mild to more severe and vary greatly, these symptoms can be:

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  • Abdominal pain
  • Runny stools (diarrhea)
  • Presence of blood or bleeding in the stool.
  • Vomiting and nausea are frequent.
  • Flatulence is common
  • Repeated urge to defecate, but without doing so.
  • And fever.

Due to these symptoms, these diseases are confused with temporary food poisoning, and whoever suffers from these symptoms should also rule out if they have irritable bowel; in which digestions are more complicated and there is greater sensitivity, that is why a good differential diagnosis is important.

Young people or people with years of prevalence, when it comes to Crohn’s disease may present some extraintestinal symptoms or digestive disorders with greater severity and nonspecific, among which are:

  • Joint problems such as arthritis or arthralgia.
  • Liver problems such as autoimmune hepatitis and cholelithiasis.
  • Skin problems such as erythema.
  • Nutritional deficits, weight loss, and developmental delay.

Symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease in children

The inflammatory bowel disease is common in adolescents, their symptoms are mainly pain in the belly with cramps and diarrhea. The manifestations of the symptoms are a little milder, compared to those of an adult, and may also present:

  • Blood in the stool.
  • Weightloss.
  • Developmental delay.
  • Eruptions
  • Eye problems
  • Liver problems

Inflammatory bowel disease during pregnancy

Given that inflammatory bowel disease usually occurs in reproductive age, there is a high possibility of getting pregnant with this active disease since fertility in men and women is not affected , although in women, surgical interventions could cause damage to the fallopian tubes or ovaries, making getting pregnant a long process in which your doctor must help you.

When you are able to conceive, it is best that it be during the remission period, because you will be able to enjoy your pregnancy month by month without suffering complications from inflammatory bowel disease, which will cause you annoying symptoms, although it is not common for them to cause harm the baby, but in some cases it could lead to premature delivery.

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If you remain in a state having the outbreak of the disease then you should inform the doctor of all possible details, so that he can indicate the medications you can take in order to alleviate the symptoms a little and not present any type of risk during this stage.

Complications of inflammatory bowel disease

When the disease is active, it can be complicated by producing problems inside and outside the digestive system, that is, locally and systemically, let’s talk about these complications of inflammatory bowel disease, below:

Inside the intestine (local)

Complications within the intestine, which we call local complications, are the following:

  • In Crohn’s disease, you can have strictures, abscesses, and fistulas.
  • Bowel perforation, fissures, and tears in both inflammatory bowel diseases.
  • Fulminant colitis, toxic megacolon, and excessive bacterial proliferation in the small intestine are some of the local complications.

Other parts of the body (systemic)

While systemic complications, that is, in other parts of the body, are:

  • Lack of iron causing anemia.
  • Arthritis that causes joint pain.
  • Rashes.
  • Inflammation of the iris called uveitis.
  • Cancer.
  • Effects on the liver.
  • Malnutrition and malabsorption especially in Crohn’s disease.

Foods allowed with inflammatory bowel disease

When suffering from inflammatory bowel disease, it is advisable to consume only those foods that are allowed , in this way complications are avoided, and symptoms are softened, among these foods are:

  • Lactose-free dairy; although in some cases this food is prohibited in cases where the person manifests intolerance, which means that, if they have diarrhea, flatulence and abdominal pain when ingesting dairy products, they must completely eliminate this from their diet.
  • Tender veal and skinless chicken are good foods for those with this disease, rabbit and turkey breast are excellent too.
  • Fish cannot be absent, consume lean white fish such as hake, fresh cod, rooster and the like.
  • Eggs can be included in your diet as long as they are lighter than the yolk, cook them well.
  • Cold cuts such as cooked ham, lean ham, and cooked turkey are also allowed.
  • Cereals, and baked fruits are very good.
  • The fats that you should consume are preferably olive oil and raw butter in a small quantity.
  • Drink plenty of natural water, rice and carrot water is also good, without overdoing the rice, and a good vegetable broth will suit you very well.

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Forbidden foods with inflammatory bowel disease

Once you follow a good diet of allowed foods, you will notice how your symptoms will ease a bit, but not only is it enough to include food, there are also some that you must completely and absolutely eliminate.

  • It is not recommended that you eat cereals with gluten since they can cause flatulence, that is, you should avoid wheat, bread, pasta.
  • Do not eat excess fiber, especially when there is a risk of intestinal obstruction, this usually happens after having an outbreak of ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.
  • If you drink coffee, alcohol, dairy, citrus, aromatic herbs, you should eliminate all this from your diet as it will worsen your symptoms.

Biodecoding and inflammatory bowel disease

The food they eat goes through a series of processes and the intestine is the place where they finish being processed, where the last nutrients are extracted, to let out what is not useful.

It is the small intestine that is responsible for absorbing the nutrients, while the mission of degrading some waste and reabsorbing water is held by the large intestine and in biodecoding each one will have a different meaning.

The intestine is considered the absorption center , not only of what was mentioned above lines, but it also absorbs what you are living in your current reality , such as: thoughts and your feelings.

This means that the things that cause you fear, sadness, confusion, or shame, could trigger intestinal problems, all emotions, feelings and thoughts will be absorbed by the intestine in the following way:

  • Small intestine: having problems with the small intestine may be related to the fact that you cling to details a lot instead of looking at the situation in a global way.
  • Large intestine: if you suffer from problems in the large intestine, it means that you are not getting rid of old beliefs or ideas that are no longer useful or necessary. You may be having a hard time defining your emotions, processing them, and recognizing them.
  • Colic in the intestines: when your intestines suffer a contraction resulting from a great internal tension, it is very possible that you are going through a situation where you feel insecure and all those nerves translate into stomach pains.

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 If you are a person with little confidence in yourself, by doubting your abilities each of your insecurities will be manifested internally, if you do not know how to resolve what life puts you to overcome, this may turn into internal struggle and cause colitis. .

The colitis as all diseases with the completion itis is related to anger, many manifestations of colitis are due to problems of personal relationships that have not been resolved, because what is mostly affects relationships with people who are very close to which they have a lot of affection.

The repressed inner anger that is felt when you cannot tell the close person what you really want to say, for fear of losing you will cause colitis or the following:

  • Biodecoding as diarrhea : it occurs when you cannot enjoy what you have, it is associated with anxiety, constantly thinking about the future without being aware of the current moment you are living.
  • Biodecoding as constipation: It is related to the inability to let go of things that no longer add anything good to your life, like old thoughts, old habits and customs. This indicates that you are holding back something you should say or do and feeling some fears.
  • Biodecoding in intestinal gases: intestinal gases appear when the person is feeling fear of changes, and losing what they have.

What is Inflammatory Bowel Disease of the Infant?

It is the same inflammatory bowel disease that we have been developing, it is polygenic, where genetic and environmental factors are involved in its pathogenesis. When the father and mother have this disease, the child has a 30% chance of suffering from it due to different genes associated with this disease.

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For this reason, at birth the baby has this considerable possibility of suffering from inflammatory bowel disease of the infant. There are symptoms that are not typical of the infant but the mother can cause gas to the baby when breastfeeding in an outbreak.

Alcohol and inflammatory bowel disease

Remember that alcohol is in the list of forbidden because there is evidence that can be irritating to the digestive mucosa and will only qu and aggravate your symptoms, even if most have Crohn’s disease, among which are vomiting, gastrointestinal bleeding and diarrhea.

Due to the components of alcohol, the inflammatory bowel disease you have can worsen, complicate or aggravate the symptoms; alcohol causes malabsorption and this leads to other complications of the disease.

Is inflammatory bowel disease contagious?

It is believed that inflammatory bowel disease is contagious, due to its multiple symptoms, which in other diseases is caused by an infection, and as we all know, all infections are contagious; But this is not the case, inflammatory bowel disease is not contagious.

None of its symptoms are cause for concern, because if you have fever, diarrhea, vomiting and any other, these are not spread to a healthy person, although it should be mentioned that it is a disease with a slight genetic tendency, that is, it is hereditary.

Inflammatory bowel disease and cancer

Having this disease has a higher risk of colon cancer , a malignant tumor located in the inner wall of the large intestine. It is through an endoscopy that the entire digestive system can be visualized thanks to the tiny camera at the tip of this device.

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Tissue samples will be taken from the lesions and suspicious growth will also be analyzed during the procedure, dysplasia is the first thing that must be identified. Thanks to this in-depth study carried out with the endoscope, cancer can be found at an earlier stage.

All people who have inflammatory bowel disease should have their check-ups periodically, in this way it will help to prolong the survival of this disease as it is colon cancer , and the mortality rate will be reduced.

Inflammatory bowel disease and liver

We have mentioned that one of the complications of inflammatory bowel disease is causing liver problems, 58% suffered by middle-aged men with Crohn’s disease.

The most frequent causes are: secondary to thiopurine treatment (39%), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (21.7%), also Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (13.8%) and viral hepatitis (11.8%). ).

Inflammatory bowel disease and hepatitis C

Viral hepatitis is a common infection that millions of people suffer from worldwide, it can be chronic hepatitis due to HBV or HCV1, however, there is no consensus that allows the association of inflammatory bowel disease and infection by HBV or HCV.

It has been said that there is a possible link between inflammatory bowel disease with autoimmune liver diseases, such as primary sclerosing cholangitis and HAI autoimmune hepatitis, in many proven cases the combination of overlap syndrome or autoimmune sclerosing cholangitis, depending on the pattern that predominate: hepatocellular necrosis, cholestasis or mixed.

Autoimmune hepatitis represents 10% of hepatitis in Spain, it is characterized (not essential for diagnosis) by the presence of serum autoantibodies and an elevation of globulins in the blood.

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Inflammatory bowel disease differential diagnosis

The differential diagnosis is made with the following with the following bacterial infections :

  • Coli 0157 or H7
  • Salmonella enteritidis
  • Campylobacter Jejuni
  • Clostridium difficile
  • Yersinia enterocolitica
  • Mycobacterium tuberculous

Parasitosis:

  • Hystolytic entoameba
  • Cytomegalovirus
  • Giardia lamblia

Virosis and malabsorption syndrome or celiac disease are also taken into account for the differential diagnosis, as well as food allergy, allergic colitis and AIDS.

Is inflammatory bowel disease considered hereditary?

Despite the fact that there are still no conclusive studies , hereditary inflammatory bowel disease is considered , between 15 and 20% of patients who suffer from this disease have a direct relative who also suffers from it, being the most frequent combination between mother and son, or brother-brother. Although there are those who have inflammatory bowel disease and mention that there is no member who has suffered from it before.

Lupus and inflammatory bowel disease

Systemic lupus erythematosus is also a chronic inflammatory disease, the etiology of which is autoimmune, and is most commonly suffered by young women. It manifests with arthralgia and arthritis, also with a malar rash and in other regions, kidney involvement, pleurisy or pericarditis, hematologic cytopenias, and central nervous system involvement.

It can be triggered by unknown environmental factors that cause an autoimmune reaction in genetically predisposed patients; women are 70 to 90% who suffer the most, especially in their childbearing years. It is treated with corticosteroids, usually hydroxychloroquine and in some cases with immunosuppressants.

The relationship between this disease and inflammatory bowel disease is said to be that some drugs such as hydralazine, isoniazid, and procainamide can cause a syndrome similar to reversible lupus.

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Inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome

One of the most common functional digestive disorders is irritable bowel syndrome , the diagnosis of this disease is based on the fulfillment of some clinical criteria that have been modified over time. Those currently in force are the Rome III criteria.

The symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are very identical to those suffered by patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and that is why diagnosing it is a bit difficult, it takes a while while it is possible to check and confirm which disease it is.

Calprotectin is a marker of stool inflammation, and it is used because it is of great help to discriminate between the two diseases; since the connection between these diseases is that their symptoms, as just mentioned, are very similar, have a common family aggregation, and both show signs of chronic inflammation.

An increase in inflammatory cells in the intestinal mucosa is common in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, specifically an increase in mast cells in the colon and jejunum, as well as in intraepithelial lymphocytes of the CD3 and CD25 type in the colon.

The mast cells activated in the proximity of the nerve endings have increased in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, which is why this finding has been related to the symptoms of both fatigue and depression and intestinal pain, which are abdominal pain. among others.

Microinflammation is a good model of postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome, the moment of appearance of the infectious process can be known, an increase in intraepithelial lymphocytes, also of enterochromaffin cells, has been initially observed.

The factors that favor irritable bowel syndrome are the polymorphism of the genes that encode anti-inflammatory cytokines; and psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, somatization and neuroticism, when you have the acute infection.

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Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Arthritis

The intestinal libelous disease includes two conditions: Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis, which are characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and whose nature is autoimmune, ie the system itself immune is who attacks the gastrointestinal tract.

The autoimmune character is what causes inflammation, and which in some cases has been related to arthritis, which appears with outbreaks of this intestinal disease where large joints become inflamed, such as in the knees.

However, where it affects, it is not usually symmetrical because the ankle of one leg and the knee of the other leg can be affected, it is what differentiates it from common arthritis, this is the one associated with inflammatory bowel disease, and people who suffer both conditions do not present a rheumatoid factor.

Inflammatory bowel disease vs celiac disease

When it comes to celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease, they are two diseases that share multiple analogies, both are associated with diseases of a genetic and immunoinflammatory basis, the immune response is similar, which is related to a Th1 lymphocyte response pattern.

Both inflammatory bowel disease and celiac disease present with chronic inflammation of the intestine, the pathogenesis of which is the result of immunological, environmental and genetic factors that interact with each other to cause the disease.

Specialists have suggested that celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease have such a relationship that they could occur together in the same person or more predominantly in family members.

Inflammatory bowel disease and anemia

In the last ten years the association of anemia with inflammatory bowel disease has grown stronger, although the prevalence of anemia is not fully known, a good percentage is estimated between 10 and 73% of people suffering from the disease Crohn’s suffer from anemia.

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This could be due to the loss of blood in the stool, and also to the malabsorption of iron, for this reason it is frequent that those who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease will have anemia as a complication.

Inflammatory bowel disease and cancer

Both ulcerative colitis patients and Crohn’s disease patients have colon involvement, and the risk for these people of colon or colorectal cancer is quite high.

The risk of cancer increases when these inflammatory bowel diseases are understood and last a long time, the longer the duration the greater the risk, and for those who have primary sclerosing cholangitis, a family and personal history of inflammatory pseudopolyps, there is also a high risk of having colorectal cancer.

When this cancer appears in people with inflammatory bowel disease, it is preceded by the development of dysplasia which generally appears due to failure of colon regeneration after chronic inflammation.

The areas of dysplasia present a behavior similar to that of colon polyps, and their appearance is considered a previous step to colorectal cancer, but detecting it is not easy, that is why it is recommended to perform a colonoscopy with a technique called chromoendoscopy where targeted biopsies are taken. This is done by staining the colon with indigo carmine.

Thanks to the dye, the areas that generate suspicion can be differentiated, to proceed to carry out a biopsy of it, once the suspicion is confirmed, the doctor will give the necessary indications to reduce the appearance of cancer in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis, taking acid Ursodeoxycholic is one of the treatments.

Others recommend taking aminosalicylates or folic acid, since these drugs would reduce the risk of cancer in those with inflammatory bowel disease.

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Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Your Healthy Habits

It is proven that those who have healthy habits have the guarantee of health, and even more so if they suffer from inflammatory bowel disease since there are many factors in our daily lives that make the disease worse, factors such as: stress, anxiety, Smoking and drinking , and the changes we refuse to accept, trigger an outbreak of this disease.

The need for you to have good healthy habits will serve you both to avoid annoying symptoms, and to avoid the disease itself when it is in remission, there everything possible is done to keep it that way for a long time.

Try to comply with these good basic tips that will keep you healthy along with the environment and the medication that is as necessary as practicing good lifestyle habits. Here is a short list of 5 good habits that will keep you in good health.

1. Rest

The more rest you have, the better you will go with the disease because the symptoms will be calmed if you find yourself resting. You should try as much as possible to reduce all mental and physical activity.

2. Physical activity

Physical activity should be reduced especially when the first symptoms of an outbreak appear. This is because physical rest and mental rest favors intestinal rest. However, it is worth mentioning that a minimum of physical activity is also advisable, such as 15 minutes of walking a day. What is really not recommended is a physical activity that involves increasing the use of abdominal muscles.

3. Emotional health

By enjoying good emotional health, your body will be healthy, as we mentioned in biodecoding, your body must adapt very well to new situations, surrounding yourself with satisfactory people will always keep you in a good mood, and if you do not stress yourself work, you do it optimistically and effectively, nothing will disturb your health.

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To have emotional health you must have good energy, self-confidence, security and self-control. In addition, a good social environment, good love relationships, and family, will positively influence your life.

Avoid the actors that negatively impact such as addictive substances, social exclusion and stress, do not feel insecure, better increase protective factors, such as: be physically active, make sure you get enough rest, and learn to manage your emotions.

4. Adequate nutrition

In order to keep the disease in remission, or its mild symptoms, an adequate diet is what you need, which is quite balanced and supported by three fundamental rules:

  1. An adequate diet must provide the energy and non-energy nutrients that cover the function of daily nutrition.
  2. The portions must be adequate to receive the corresponding nutritional contributions.
  3. These rations should provide daily the amount of energy that your body needs for the proper functioning of the body.

5. No toxic habits

In the emotional health part we mentioned a little about suppressing these bad habits, and the reason is because studies have suggested that smoking is a factor that increases the risk for the development of inflammatory bowel disease , although when it comes to ulcerative colitis, apparently a smoker has a lower risk of developing this disease, and it increases when quitting the habit.

The latter is due to the fact that the mechanism of action of nicotine in ulcerative colitis may have a certain regulatory role in the immune response, even more so at the level of T lymphocytes, and this same substance is capable of reducing everything in the body. which participates in the stimulation of inflammation of the intestine.

Although smoking is counterproductive for Crohn’s disease, it appears to be beneficial for ulcerative colitis, nicotine can increase a natural corticosteroid that is produced by the same body, known as cortisol and its action is very similar to prednisone.

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But as said, tobacco is a factor that contributes to the development of Crohn’s disease interacting with a genetic predisposition and other environmental factors. Smoking is definitely very harmful for people suffering from Crohn’s disease , it negatively impacts the quality of life of these patients.

Smoking has been shown in the evolution of Crohn’s disease to increase the prevalence of stenosis and fistulas, surgeries, postoperative recurrences and in perianal disease. It also increases the need for steroids and immunosuppressive treatment.

Can inflammatory bowel disease cause death?

The inflammatory bowel disease can have mild symptoms and then serious, and if the person who is suffering from not going to the doctor and the disease early this may have intestinal damage, such as untreated: joint damage, hematologic, skin and eye.

All these complications that occur can cause the death of the patient , this is a disease that occurs when the immune system attacks itself, generating inflammation in the intestinal walls and chronic damage.

But you should not be alarmed, death from that inflammatory bowel disease occurs when the person is not treated with medications, and healthy habits, today the disease can be controlled by favoring the state of remission and with medications and a good quality of life to maintain the disease in remission a long time.

What does Crohn’s disease in remission mean?

Crohn’s disease is one of the two inflammatory bowel diseases, it can manifest anywhere in the digestive tract, affecting much more the end of the small intestine and the beginning of the large intestine, respectively the ileum and colon. It presents very annoying symptoms, pain, diarrhea, and complications that can depress the patient.

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However, it is well known that this disease has periods where it is active, and periods where it is in remission , which means that the symptoms will cease because the damage and inflammation will decrease.

After the remission stage, outbreaks occur that can last weeks or even months, and manifest with mild cramps, diarrhea or much more serious symptoms such as severe pain in the abdominal area or obstructions in the intestine that will take you to a physical state and mental fatigue and decay, in itself to a depression on many occasions.

When Crohn’s disease is in remission there will be no noticeable symptoms, as the lining of the digestive tract will heal and show no signs of inflammation, this period of remission could last only a few days, but could also last for years, the latter is the goal of medical treatments is to keep the disease in remission for as long as possible.

Nutritional treatment for inflammatory bowel disease

Nutritional treatment is a central component to improve inflammatory bowel disease , especially to maintain the state of remission. Enteral nutrition reduces exposure to antigenic and toxic dietary factors with enteral formulas made up of amino acids, low lipids, and glucose.

Nutritional treatment reduces the contribution of microparticles and intestinal mediators, which is why it is effective to maintain Crohn’s disease in remission , if you maintain a good diet and consume only what will benefit you with respect to the disease then you will notice how the symptoms decrease , you will undoubtedly feel better.

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Natural treatments for inflammatory bowel disease

Phytotherapy can be adopted as an alternative natural treatment for inflammatory bowel disease , but not without first consulting your family doctor about your desire to do so since it is a complementary treatment and it should not be substituted for the pharmacological treatment that you are taking.

Phytotherapy is a treatment that involves the use of a series of plants that fulfill the following functions:

  • Anti-inflammatory plants: these are plants that contribute to the relaxation of the irritated intestine, so the affected area is deflated.
  • Healing plants: these are plants that have healing properties and therefore help to recover the intestinal mucosa, thus favoring the state of remission so that no outbreak occurs in a long time.
  • Astringent plants: these contain soluble fiber and are indicated to control one of the most frequent symptoms in inflammatory bowel disease such as diarrhea, since they control excess loose stools.
  • Food supplements: these food supplements are necessary to make up for possible nutritional deficits that occur, for example, in Crohn’s disease.

Herbal remedies for inflamed intestines

Anti-inflammatory plants are used to remedy the problems of the inflamed intestine, these are:

  • Aloe vera: drinking a glass of juice from this plant will help reduce intestinal inflammation and improve the state of the digestive mucosa. You can take aloe gel.
  • Chamomile: feverfew chamomilla has anti-inflammatory and relaxing properties that are ideal for reducing inflammation, reducing pain and preventing swelling, at the same time these properties contribute to the prevention of deterioration of the intestinal wall. You can take it as an infusion every morning or twice a day.

Discover more information about  Chamomile: Contraindications, Toxicity, Benefits and Uses

  • Licorice: Glycyrrhyza glabra is an antispasmodic plant with anti-inflammatory properties as well, so it will help prevent or treat inflammation, it also reduces cramps, you can take it in an infusion of a tablespoon of crushed dried root in a glass of water twice a day.
  • Carrot: daucus carota is a vegetable, but with medicinal properties, it helps to repair damaged intestinal mucosa due to its high beta-carotene content, you can take it in carrot and apple smoothies every day.
  • Cabbage: has antiulcer and healing properties, but not very tolerable by all people, if you can tolerate it well you can prepare a raw cabbage smoothie or include it in recipes.

Inflammatory bowel disease drug treatment

Among the nutritional and natural alternatives that greatly help the recovery of this inflammatory bowel disease, pharmacological treatments are quite necessary, since it is not a viral disease that can be easily fought, it is a chronic disease that causes strong symptoms Although it enters a state of remission, medicines are necessary to maintain this state for a long time.

For symptom control

There are drugs especially indicated for the control of the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease , these are usually those used for a series of digestive conditions, they control symptoms such as abdominal pain, for example: antispasmodics and analgesics.

Anticholinergics or intestinal wall relaxants are prescribed for distention, while antiemetics are recommended for vomiting and astringent drugs that slow down intestinal transit are recommended for diarrhea.

All medications are very effective for each symptom mentioned, however, it is your doctor who must indicate them to you because when you have an inflammatory bowel disease the person cannot self-medicate because it could cause the opposite effect to what he expects if he does not take the correct medications correctly. .

Enter and read this important Almax article  : Contraindications, side effects, benefits, etc.

For specific control of intestinal inflammation

The drugs indicated to control intestinal inflammation are: Aminosalicylic (5-ASA), Immunomodulators, Corticosteroids, Antibiotics and Biological Therapies, strictly with a prescription, your doctor is the one who should prescribe them. Like other treatments that we will see below:

Surgeries are part of the integral treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, you must know when a surgery is required, how it is technically performed and what its potential benefits will be and even greater what its risks are.

For example, for ulcerative colitis, surgical resection of the colon is practically the only known cure, although the colon performs a number of beneficial functions, but any surgical procedure is subject to risks.

While surgery in Crohn’s disease is not curative, since the disease returns even after having undergone surgery, it is best for these cases to treat it with drugs.

Inflammatory bowel disease in veterinary medicine

If you see that your pet is suffering from the symptoms that we have described throughout the article, you may be wondering, can my pet suffer from inflammatory bowel disease? The answer is yes, this is possible, let’s see how veterinary inflammatory bowel disease affects our pets:

How does it affect dogs and cats?

Dogs and cats with VHD may experience chronic, but intermittent vomiting and diarrhea, and the signs may vary depending on where in the digestive tract is involved. For this reason, it is the vet who will tell you the diagnosis with much more precision.

Injuries to the intestine at the beginning of the intestine can cause vomiting, and injuries to the lower digestive tract will cause watery diarrhea or diarrhea with blood and mucus. In more serious cases your pet will lose weight and experience loss of appetite, its coat will be dull and thin; It is these symptoms that you should attend to and take him immediately to the vet.

Read the article we have on  Omeprazole: Contraindications, side effects, benefits, etc.

Current situation of therapeutic alternatives

The inflammatory bowel disease presents relapses with periods of inactivity, and the treatments are based on these periods, its sole purpose is to maintain remission for a long time, to avoid the complications of this disease and its symptoms.

There are different guidelines and clinical trials that have been dedicated to the study of this disease by age group, determining that it occurs more frequently in adolescents who have reached 15 years of age and up to adulthood of 35 years, although it is also have reported cases of people over 50 with inflammatory bowel disease.

The main objective of the treatments is to induce the state of remission, and to maintain it as long as possible, an adequate growth is achieved and complications are prevented; although at present new therapeutic alternatives have appeared that have allowed a new comprehensive approach to the management of this disease.

The nutritional state and also the psychological state of the person are currently taken into account to improve their quality of life by eliminating their bad habits and everything negative, managing to control intestinal inflammation.

Once these therapeutic alternatives cure the mucosal lesions, and do not cause adverse effects in the short or long term, although the characteristics of each patient must be taken into account so that the treatment is individualized to modify the natural evolution of inflammatory bowel disease.

General recommendations for living with the disease

In the general recommendations to be able to live with Crohn’s disease we can say that you exercise regularly, do not smoke, drink a lot of water, eat healthy, avoid red meat and pork, do not consume dairy. Write down the foods that trigger an outbreak or make your symptoms worse.

In addition, you should avoid caffeine and alcohol, especially if you are taking antibiotics, so that you do not diminish the effects of this, and with regard to this part, take your medicines to the letter, without skipping any dose and without taking it in excess, and finally I recommend that you speak with your doctor regularly.

In this article are all the best recommendations to be able to deal with this disease, do not forget how important it is that you maintain an excellent quality of life, physical and emotional health, a good diet and suppress toxic habits. Avoid resolving conflicts and do not let yourself be affected by them, just try not to stress accept everything with optimism because everything has a solution.

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Kathie Sand always saw the world of beauty as the terrain on which to build her professional career, a goal that was clear to her when she was only 15 years old. Her great concern to expand knowledge led her to settle in Paris where she studied hand in hand with the best beauty professionals and with the most advanced techniques for skin care.

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