Fast Facts: Inflammatory Bowel Disease for Patients and their Supporters

F. Shanahan

Description

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is in fact two long-term conditions – ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease – that cause problems in the digestive system. No two patients with IBD have the same experience. How the disease progresses, the type of complications and the response to treatment all differ from person to person. The information in this booklet is designed to help you and your family better understand your IBD, its treatment and how you can help yourself. With simple clear illustrations, explanation of medical terms and space to write down the questions you want to ask your doctor or nurse, this resource will help you take control of your condition.

Informations

• Publié par: S. Karger AG
• Date de parution: 24 octobre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9783318065428
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

First, the facts ...

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) comprises two distinct disorders with overlapping features: ulcerative colitis and Crohn s disease.
These are chronic (long-lasting) conditions that come and go. They flare up and then become inactive. A flare up is called a relapse and an inactive time is called a remission.
Ulcerative colitis is excessive inflammation of the large bowel (colon and rectum). Crohn s disease is patchy inflammation anywhere inside the digestive system, from the mouth to the anus.
No two patients are alike. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn s disease differ greatly from one patient to another, and each disorder varies within the same patient over time.
Modern medicine has greatly improved the outlook for patients with IBD. These disorders can be controlled, and patients can live full productive lives.

Remove fear of the unknown with the information in this booklet. Equip yourself with simple strategies to take control of your IBD. Let this booklet help you ask the right questions and get the answers and support you need.

My main concerns
Make a note of anything you want to discuss with your doctor here.
What is IBD?
What is ulcerative colitis?
What is Crohn s disease?
Long-term complications
What causes IBD?
How is IBD treated?
How to stay healthy
Drugs - what you need to know
How will my condition be monitored?
Will I need surgery?
Does IBD affect fertility or pregnancy?
IBD in children and the elderly
What is IBD?
There are two main forms of IBD:
Ulcerative colitis
Crohn s disease
They are both chronic (long-lasting) conditions, with cycles of flare ups (relapses) and periods of inactivity (remission).
The flare ups are caused by excessive inflammation in the gastrointestinal (digestive) system.

TERMINOLOGY TIP
Inflammation is similar in every organ. Think of sunburned skin - hot, red, swollen, tender and sometimes peeling or ulcerated.
Medical students learn the classic features of inflammation in Latin: calor (heat), rubor (redness), dolor (pain), tumor (swelling) and functio laesa (loss of function). In IBD, some or all of these features occur inside the gastrointestinal system.
Is IBD the same as IBS?
No! IBD is not the same as the more common irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The gastrointestinal system is not inflamed in IBS.
Who gets IBD?
Ulcerative colitis or Crohn s disease can occur in both men and women of any age but are most common in late adolescence or early adulthood. These disorders can be controlled, and patients live full productive lives.
Modern medicine has greatly improved the outlook for people with IBD and there is a lot that you can do to help yourself read on!

FAST TEST
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). True or False?
Answer: False. IBS is a different disorder from IBD.
What is ulcerative colitis?

Bloody diarrhea is the most common symptom. You may also notice slime (mucus) in your stools and have cramping pain when you have a bowel movement.
The severity of symptoms ranges from a few blood-stained bowel movements to a lot of diarrhea with dehydration and anemia from loss of blood. When inflammation is in the rectum only (proctitis), you may have bleeding with formed stools. Ulcers only occur in a few patients and only when the condition is severe.
The inflammation begins in the rectum. It may extend higher to a variable extent or involve the entire colon.
What is Crohn s disease?

Symptoms depend on the part of the gut affected by the disease.
Patients with the most common pattern of disease usually notice pain and/or tenderness in the lower right abdomen, and may have diarrhea and weight loss.

FAST TEST
Crohn s disease can affect any part of the digestive tract. True or False?
Answer: True. It can occur anywhere from the mouth to the anus.
Complications in Crohn s disease

Strictures. As with the skin, deep ulcers in Crohn s disease heal by scarring. When the scars shrink, they create areas of narrowing of the bowel, called strictures. Strictures cause intermittent or crampy pain, with audible gurgling bowel sounds (borborygmi). Your abdomen may become distended and you may vomit. This is due to partial bowel obstruction. Some patients may present with, or later develop, a fistula (see below).

Adhesions. If inflammation penetrates the bowel wall, adhesions may form. This is when one loop of bowel sticks to another or to a nearby organ.

Abscesses. * Occasionally, when inflammation penetrates the bowel wall, an abscess (a pocket of pus) may form. Symptoms due to inflammation or abscess include continual pain and intermittent fever.

Fistulas. * If inflammation penetrates the bowel wall, a fistula may form. Fistulas are small tunnels that develop between adjacent loops of bowel (internal fistula) or between the bowel and the skin (external fistula).
External fistulas are obvious, but occasionally a fistula between a bowel loop and the urinary tract may show up as bubbles of air when you pass urine. Fistulas to the vagina result in a vaginal discharge with feces in it.

* Particularly common when Crohn s disease affects the anus and rectum.

No two patients are alike
Your experience of ulcerative colitis or Crohn s disease will differ greatly from that of any other patient with the same disease. The nature of the disease varies from person to person, but your experience of the disease will also be affected by your personal traits and circumstances.
Different patients with the same degree of disease also have different responses to treatment.

My diagnosis
Ulcerative colitis - go to page 3
Crohn s disease - go to page 4
When Crohn s disease is confined to the colon, it may be impossible for doctors to decide whether you have ulcerative colitis or Crohn s disease. However, the diagnosis usually becomes clear over time.
Although ulcerative colitis and Crohn s disease are distinctly different conditions, they share many features, and, rarely, a patient may develop both.