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Inflammatory Bowel Disease Essay

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The term Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a general name given to a few disorders that all fall under the category of inflamed intestines (they become red and swollen.) This is usually due to a reaction the body causes against its own intestinal tissue. The two most common types of Inflammatory Bowel Disease are Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn’s Disease (CD). Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract; however, it more commonly affects the small intestine or colon. Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a chronic disease, which means that it lasts a long time and can occur frequently. There are some cases where a person will only suffer from one occurrence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and then be in remission from …show more content…

People who suffer from Crohn’s disease may also suffer the same risks of colon cancer, but typically only if the entire colon is affected. There are also rare extra-intestinal cases of Inflammatory Bowel Disease that occur in organs other that the intestinal tract. These symptoms may include arthritis, liver and kidney disorders, bone loss, and more.
In cases of children suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease, it may also delay puberty. This is due to the body not absorbing all of the nutrients from their food. They may also suffer from fever, fatigue, and weight loss.
One symptom that is not definite, but may help decide what form of IBD is present, is where the pain in the abdomen is located. Typically Ulcerative Colitis patients experience pain in the lower left section of the abdomen, while Crohn’s Disease patients tend to suffer from pain in the lower right section of the abdomen. “With Ulcerative Colitis, bleeding from the rectum during bowel movements is very common, and bleeding is much less common in patients with Crohn’s Disease.” (Tresca, 2009)
While Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease share similar symptoms, they are treated different medically. “There are cases where the diagnosis of one form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease over the other is very difficult.

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