Diverticular disease and diverticulitis
Diverticular disease is caused by small bulges in the large intestine (diverticula) developing and becoming inflamed. If any of the diverticula become infected, this leads to symptoms of diverticulitis.
The exact reason why diverticula develop is not known, buttheyare associated with not eating enough fibre.
Fibre makes your stools softer and larger, so less pressure is needed by your large intestine to push them out of your body.
The pressure of moving hard, small pieces of stools through yourlarge intestine creates weak spots in the outside layer of muscle. This allows the inner layer (mucosa)to squeeze through these weak spots, creating the diverticula.
There is currently no clinical evidence to fully prove the link between fibre and diverticula. However, diverticular disease and diverticulitis are both much more common in Western countries, where many people do not eat enough fibre.
It is not known why only one in four people with diverticula go on to have symptoms of diverticulitis. Diverticular disease may be chronic low-level diverticulitis. The symptoms are very similar to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and may overlap.
However,factors that appear to increase your risk of developing diverticular disease include:
Exactly how these lead to developing diverticular disease is unclear.
Diverticulitis is caused by an infection of one or more of the diverticula.
It is thought an infection develops when a hard piece of stool or undigested foodgets trapped in one of the pouches. This gives bacteria in the stool the chance to multiply and spread, triggering an infection.
Diverticular disease and diverticulitis are related digestive conditions that affect the large intestine (colon).
Symptoms of diverticular disease and diverticulitis include abdominal pain, bloating and a change in normal bowel habits.
Diverticular disease and diverticulitis are caused by small bulges in the large intestine (diverticula) developing and becoming inflamed or infected.
In order to diagnosis diverticular disease it is necessary to examine the large intestine, which can be done in a number of ways.
Treatment options for diverticular disease and diverticulitis depend on how severe your symptoms are
Complications of diverticulitis affect one in five people with the condition. Those most at risk are younger people (under 50 years of age).
Eating a high-fibre diet may help prevent diverticular disease, and should improve your symptoms.