Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Cause Of Ulcerative Colitis

Question:
Difference between crohn’s/colitis and IBS?

Answer:
An estimated 500,000 Americans have Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract. Like ulcerative colitis, another common IBD, Crohn's disease can be both painful and debilitating and sometimes may lead to life-threatening complications. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are similar - so similar that they're often mistaken for one another. Both inflame the lining of your digestive tract, and both can cause severe bouts of watery or bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain. But Crohn's disease can occur anywhere in your digestive tract, often spreading deep into the layers of affected tissues. Ulcerative colitis, on the other hand, usually affects only the innermost lining of your large intestine (colon) and rectum. There's no known medical cure for Crohn's disease. However, therapies are available that may greatly reduce the signs and symptoms of Crohn's disease and even bring about a long-term remission. http://ibdcrohns.about.com/cs/faqscd/a/crohnsfaq.htm Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic disease that can cause inflammation anywhere along the digestive tract from the mouth to the anus. Of all cases of CD, 45% occur in ileum and colon, 35% in just the ileum, and 20% in just the colon. Unlike ulcerative colitis (UC), which only affects the inner layer, CD commonly involves all layers of the intestinal wall. CD and UC are collectively called Inflammatory Bowel Disease. http://ibdcrohns.about.com/cs/faqsuc/a/ucfaq.htm UC is a chronic disease that causes inflammation in the rectum, colon (large intestine), and infrequently the last part of the small intestine (ileum). The inflammation affects the inner lining of the colon, causing small sores, or ulcers. UC, along with a similar condition known as Crohn's disease, are collectively called Inflammatory Bowel Disease http://ibdcrohns.about.com/cs/faqsibs/a/ibsfaq.htm Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder of the colon (large intestine) that causes crampy abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and/or diarrhea. IBS is classified as a functional gastrointestinal disorder because no structural or biochemical cause can be found to explain the symptoms. Upon diagnostic testing, the colon shows no evidence of disease such as ulcers or inflammation. Therefore, IBS is diagnosed only after other possible digestive disorders and diseases have been ruled out. IBS is often misdiagnosed or misnamed as colitis, mucous colitis, spastic colon, irritable bowel disease or spastic bowel (colon). These misnomers persist, even though IBS is now a recognized and treatable condition. Affecting between 25 and 55 million people in the United States, IBS results in 2.5 to 3.5 million yearly visits to physicians. 20 to 40 percent of all visits to gastroenterologists are due to symptoms of IBS.