Symptoms of diverticulitis are more severe and often start suddenly, but they may become worse over a few days. They include: Tenderness, usually in the left lower part of the abdomen.
Several factors may increase your risk of developing diverticulitis: Aging. The incidence of diverticulitis increases with age.
The best way to prevent diverticulitis is to modify your diet and lifestyle. Here are some tips: Eat more fiber by adding whole-grain breads, oatmeal, bran cereals, fibrous fresh fruits, and vegetables to your diet. However, take care to add fiber gradually.
In about 95 out of 100 people, uncomplicated diverticulitis goes away on its own within a week.
You can have diverticulosis for years without any complications or problems. If one or more of the diverticula become inflamed, however, that condition is diverticulitis. While diverticulosis usually doesn't lead to any discomfort, diverticulitis can be quite painful.
The vast majority of patients would live their whole lives without having any sort of complication. The reason to be concerned is that there is a risk for complications, and there are ways that we reduce those complications: Increase your dietary fiber.
Diverticulitis is often a medical emergency, requiring immediate medical attention and, frequently, admission to hospital. Mild attacks can be treated at home, but should always be assessed promptly. Treatment may include: no eating or drinking – intravenous fluids are given to rest the bowel.
In serious cases, diverticulitis can lead to bleeding, tears, or blockages. Your doctor will do a physical exam and imaging tests to diagnose it. Treatment may include antibiotics, pain relievers, and a liquid diet. A serious case may require a hospital stay or surgery.
Diverticulosis is a condition in which small, bulging pouches (diverticuli) form inside the lower part of the intestine, usually in the colon. Constipation and straining during bowel movements can worsen the condition. A diet rich in fiber can help keep stools soft and prevent inflammation.
Mild cases of diverticulitis are usually treated with antibiotics and a low-fiber diet, or treatment may start with a period of rest where you eat nothing by mouth, then start with clear liquids and then move to a low-fiber diet until your condition improves. More-severe cases typically require hospitalization.
CAUSES. The most commonly accepted theory for the formation of diverticulosis is related to high pressure within the colon, which causes weak areas of the colon wall to bulge out and form the sacs. A diet low in fiber and high in red meat may also play a role.
The risk of having colorectal cancer after an episode of acute diverticulitis is 44-fold higher than that of an age- and gender-adjusted reference population.
But in fewer than 5% of patients with diverticulosis, the diverticula become inflamed or infected, causing diverticulitis – a condition that does typically cause symptoms such as: Pain in the lower left abdomen.
When stress is added to the overall picture, the problem of diverticulitis becomes an issue. This is due to the body impulses that will immediately address stressful situations by shifting the oxygen and blood from the digestive tract to the brain and muscles.
Living with diverticular disease
If you have diverticulosis, you may sometimes get flare-ups of diverticulitis. To prevent these, your doctor may suggest you eat more fiber, drink plenty of fluids, and exercise regularly. This should help prevent the pouches from becoming infected or inflamed.
Actually, no specific foods are known to trigger diverticulitis attacks. And no special diet has been proved to prevent attacks. In the past, people with small pouches (diverticula) in the lining of the colon were told to avoid nuts, seeds and popcorn.
The most common symptom of diverticulitis is belly or abdominal pain. The most common sign that you have it is feeling sore or sensitive on the left side of your lower belly. If infection is the cause, then you may have fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, cramping, and constipation.
Peritonitis. In rare cases, an infected diverticulum (pouch in your colon) can split, spreading the infection into the lining of your abdomen (perforation). An infection of the lining of the abdomen is known as peritonitis. Peritonitis can be life-threatening, and requires immediate treatment with antibiotics.
Uncomplicated diverticulitis
Your doctor is likely to recommend: Antibiotics to treat infection, although new guidelines state that in very mild cases, they may not be needed. A liquid diet for a few days while your bowel heals. Once your symptoms improve, you can gradually add solid food to your diet.
In addition, many patients with diverticular disease surgically treated in an emergency setting will live with a colostomy for the remainder of their lives.
Your NYU Langone gastroenterologist may recommend surgery if symptoms of diverticulitis haven't improved after nonsurgical treatment; if a perforation or fistula, a connection that forms between the intestines and another organ, develops in the colon wall; or if a diverticular pouch ruptures.
Diverticulosis may lead to several complications including inflammation, infection, bleeding or intestinal blockage. Fortunately, diverticulosis does not lead to cancer.
Diverticulitis is treated using diet modifications, antibiotics, and possibly surgery. Mild diverticulitis infection may be treated with bed rest, stool softeners, a liquid diet, antibiotics to fight the infection, and possibly antispasmodic drugs.