WHAT IS INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE? WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WOMEN SHOULD KNOW?

The human digestive system is a track from mouth to anus with various organs performing specific functions. The role of the digestive system is to simplify complex food into a manner in which nutrition is obtained. If the digestive system is disturbed, the entire function of the body is disturbed. One of the conditions in which the digestive system becomes swollen and causes pain is called Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This disorder is a group of conditions in which the amount of nutrients that should be absorbed is not fulfilled leading to malnutrition, diarrhea, blood in stool, etc.

TYPES OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE –

According to the organ of the digestive system they affect, there are two kinds of IBD noted here - 

·         Ulcerative colitis – as the name goes, it causes ulcers on the large intestine and rectum. These ulcers consist of pus and blood. In this condition, there is continuous damage observed.

· Crohn’s disease – this disease affects any part of the digestive system from the mouth to the anus. The affected area consists of patches of damage instead of a continuous lining of damage.

WHO ARE AT RISK?

Men and women both are at risk. This disease mostly affects people with age more than 45 years. If a person's family has a medical history of Inflammatory bowel disease, there are chances of getting it. Smoking is another factor that adds to the risk of getting the disease. Women get affected by this disease in many ways. They face pre-menstrual pain, headache, abdominal pain, etc. when they are affected by inflammatory bowel disease.

Due to the lack of absorption of nutrients, women face malnutrition and anemia in this disease. Lack of absorption of iron and bleeding in the stool causes iron-deficiency anemia in women. It is advised to consult a doctor and take medication to compensate for the iron loss.

Women who plan to get pregnant, need to undergo screening to confirm the disease. Inflammatory bowel disease causes complications in conceiving and during pregnancy. The limiting factor while conceiving is that in this disease the nutrients are not absorbed up to the mark and an iron deficiency remains, which can cause complications. If a woman is pregnant and gets inflammatory bowel disease, there are chances of low birth weight of the infant and C-section. In this situation, women's medicine, its amount and type is changed by the doctor accordingly.

SYMPTOMS OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE –

This disease has a trait of going away for months and coming back which is commonly called flaring up. The disease can vanish all of a sudden and the patient might think they have been cured, but after a few years, it can re-occur. Inflammatory bowel disease is caused by the immune system of the body. Usually, our immunity responds to foreign particles by creating antibodies as and when required. After the infection is over, the generation of antibodies is stopped. In inflammatory bowel disease, the immune system reacts to the normal bacteria present in the digestive tract like E. coli.

The immune system produces antibodies and does not stop their generation, leading to inflammation. Factors like the usage of certain medicine; birth control pills, antibiotics, etc. by women can worsen the inflammatory disease. Certain symptoms need to be treated under expert advice for inflammatory bowel disease –

·         Diarrhoea

·         Abdominal pain

·         Weight loss

·         Fatigue

·         Rectal bleeding

DIAGNOSIS OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE –

if a person undergoes the above symptoms, they are advised to consult a doctor so that they can undergo a few tests.

·         Blood test, stool test – inflammatory bowel disease can be detected by a blood test. A sample of stool is taken of the patient suffering from this infection and sent to the lab for confirmation.

·         Colonoscopy – with the modernization in medical science, it has become easier to detect disease going on inside the body. A thin tube with a camera attached to it is inserted into the person’s anal area suffering from the disease.

·         Endoscopy – as inflammatory bowel disease affects the entire digestive system, it is important to scan and look for the swollen area with the help of a thin tube inserted from the mouth to the esophagus.

WAY FORWARD FOR THE INFECTION –

with the advent of modern medical science, every disease has a cure now. There are groups of medicine, vaccine, and surgeries that can help cure a disease. In the condition of Inflammatory bowel disease, certain antibiotics which help calm the overgrowth of bacteria are suggested by doctors. A change in eating habits is suggested to women to reduce the severity of the infection.

The disease is not caused by depression but worsens if the person has both depression and inflammatory bowel disease. Thus it is suggested to the patient reduce stress as much as possible so that the disease can stay under control. In this disease, there is a tremendous amount of loss of nutrients. The digestive system is unable to absorb the nutrients from the food and thus the body suffers from malnutrition. It is advised to take vitamin supplements orally so that it compensates for the loss and the body does not suffer from om anemia-like condition.

Certain food like yogurt and curd which consists of probiotics are advised to be consumed by the patient to compensate for the natural bacteria which were present in the digestive tract. Changing certain eating habits, ingredients, food, etc. has seen a tremendous change in women suffering from inflammatory bowel disease.

Whenever a person is suffering from a certain disease or infection, their first stop destination should be a consultation with one’s family doctor or expert. This applies especially to women, she already undergone a lot of changes since her puberty, if she is suffering from some uneasiness in their body, they should always see a doctor before it gets worse. The website of ICHHORI is lucidly spreading information about every woman's related issues and diseases. The woman-oriented site has helped many women get the right information and eradicate the taboo of certain things.