IBD is the acronym for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. IBD is a chronic auto-immune disorder that causes inflammation in the digestive system, resulting in diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, and abdominal pain. Its symptoms are often debilitating and unpredictable, so it is essential to know some basics of IBD to make good decisions when managing your condition.
Here are some of those things:
What are the causes of IBD?
People with IBD have two types of immune cells (known as T-cells) that are trying to attack the gut simultaneously. This results in inflammation in any part of your digestive systems like your stomach, small intestine, or large intestine. You may not be born with this condition but develop it at some point in your life because it has genetic links that make you more susceptible to developing them.
What are the symptoms of IBD?
Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis symptoms vary and depend on what part of your body is affected. It can affect any part of the digestive system, from your mouth to your anus.
How do I know if I have IBD?
It can be hard to diagnose this illness because no specific test can detect it. Specialists need to do a thorough medical history, physical examination, and specific blood tests and imaging tests. Yet, sometimes you may discover that you have it by accident because you have no other explanation for what your symptoms are all about.
In conclusion, IBD is a chronic illness that affects people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and sexes. It has genetic links that make some people more susceptible to it. Anything that can cause inflammation in the gut, like food allergies, infections, and stress, can trigger it. Once you have been diagnosed with IBD, treatment is usually a combination of medication and lifestyle changes to help keep your symptoms under control.