Browsing: Digestive Health
The page provides quick access to a list of common gastro-intestinal tract diseases, syndromes, health conditions, and other topics of health importance. The list is organized alphabetically. Links are provided to respective diseases sections that serve as a comprehensive and ultimate guide about the disease or health condition.
Some people experience certain gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms on a regular basis, such as heartburn, indigestion/dyspepsia, bloating and constipation. These symptoms may occur due to various digestive problems. Depending upon the condition, the gastrointestinal disease (GI disease) may be acute or chronic. The best way to prevent occurrence of any such disease is exercising on a regular basis and have a healthy diet.
Healthcare professionals indicate such prevalent occurrence of gastric diseases throughout the world, across all age groups. This is due to improper diet, obesity, gastroenteritis, inflammatory bowel disease, various gastric cancers and ulcers. Some doctors believe that digestive disorders occur due to malabsorption disorders and lack of gastric microbiome in an individual.
Gastrointestinal disorders include conditions such as constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticular diseases, colitis, piles, gall stones and colon cancer, which are extremely common. These lead to inefficient digestion and absorption of nutrients in the body, causing severe effects in growth and development of an individual. Constipation and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are two most widespread gastric diseases.
An appendectomy is a simple and common surgery. The procedure is generally performed as an emergency operation to treat the condition of appendicitis. Some patients who are at risk of appendicitis and who are undergoing surgery of their abdomen for some other reason may also have their appendix removed to avoid developing appendicitis.
Irritable bowel syndrome is a gastrointestinal problem which changes the function of your digestive system. The disease mainly affects your large intestine and leads to abdominal pain, cramping, and a change in the pattern of bowel movement. A person may suffer from either diarrhea or constipation. There is no cure for it.
A lump or a swelling that is painful and develops suddenly may be caused by many reasons such as an injury or an infection. Sometimes, it is a hemorrhoid (piles). If you are susceptible to the risk factors for hemorrhoids, the anal lump may be due to piles. You should talk to a doctor even if the symptoms are mild.
Hemorrhoids (piles) are changed blood vessels that are located in the anal canal. Hemorrhoids do not cause any problem unless they become inflamed. Bleeding severity may vary depending on the severity of the condition, but the lumps and swelling around the anus due to bleeding hemorrhoids can be very painful.
Ulcerative Colitis is the most common type of inflammatory bowel disease. It is a chronic disease in which the inner lining of large intestine experiences inflammation and ulcers which results in severe abdominal pain, bleeding and many other symptoms. Ulcerative colitis develops in colon and rectum of the large intestine.
There are different types of creams and ointments available for application on internal and external haemorrhoids that can help relieve the symptoms. You should always consult your doctor before applying any such ointment on the skin. Some creams may work good for one but for others.
After cholecystectomy, you may experience trouble in digesting fatty foods until your body adjusts. For this reason, your doctor or dietician may instruct you to avoid high fats and fried foods until your body is not ready to tolerate them. In fact, gallbladder problems and your weight changes go hand in hand.
There are different dietary strategies to tackle diarrhea. Diarrhea can be controlled easily at home by taking rest, increasing fluid intake, and consuming easily digestible food items in the diet. The well-known diarrhea diet is the BRAT diet; it refers to Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast.
There are different forms of diarrhea – osmotic diarrhea, infectious diarrhea, secretory diarrhea, dysmotility diarrhea, and steatorrhea. Diarrhea is usually defined as three or more watery stools in a period of 24 hours. Diarrhea can be watery, bloody, mucoid, and loose.
Diarrhea is characterized by watery stools or recurrent bowel movement. Diarrhea lasts for a few days and often disappears without any treatment. It can be acute or chronic. Most cases of diarrhea occur due to bacteria, viruses, or parasitic infection. The general signs and symptoms of diarrhea involve passing loose, runny stools that may occur more than three times a day.