What Is Diverticulitis?

Small pouches along the wall of the colon are called diverticula. When these pouches become inflamed, the condition is called, diverticulitis.  Diverticula’s commonly occur in the sigmoid colon, which is the S-shaped segment of the colon in the left lower part of the abdomen. The section of your abdomen that is nearest to your left hand. Approximately half of all Americans age 60 to 80 have diverticula in their colon. When individuals reach 80 years of age, they usually have diverticulosis.

A major contributing factor for diverticula forming is the elevated pressure within the colon and age. Age, is a factor because as we age our colon walls become weakened, making them more susceptible to the formation of diverticula. The pressure inside the colon rises when we are constipated and we push down in order to pass small, hard bits of stool.

Individuals with diverticulosis rarely know they have the condition because there are usually few or no symptoms of the condition. The few that do have symptoms may experience abdominal cramping and bloating.

The condition, diverticulitis can be potentially serious. The individual may feel pain in the left lower abdomen, may experience a fever, nausea, even vomiting. They may have bouts of constipation with the occasional diarrhea and the occurrence of frequent urination. The condition becomes serious when perforation of the colon, or peritonitis occurs.

Complications:

Complications of diverticulitis also include bleeding, and blockages. Treatment can prevent these complications from progressing and causing more serious illness.

Bleeding from diverticula is a rare complication and is noticeable by blood appearing in the toilet or in your stool. Bleeding can be severe, or it can be mild. The bleeding can stop by itself without requiring treatment. If the bleeding does not stop on its own, than surgery may be required.

Diverticulitis can lead to an abscess, perforation or peritonitis. The abscess forms if the diverticulitis does not clear up. An abscess is an infected area (diverticulitis) that swells and destroys surrounding tissue. The doctor will insert a needle with a small tube in order to drain the abscess. This procedure to drain an abscess is called “percutaneous catheter drainage”. Surgery to remove any destroyed tissue or to clean up the abscess may be required. If the infection spreads beyond the colon and into the abdominal cavity is called peritonitis. The presence of peritonitis requires immediate surgery. During this surgery the abdominal cavity will be cleaned and the affected part of the colon is removed.

Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment:

You can prevent diverticulitis by avoiding the development of diverticula. There is little you can do about the aging process, but you can eat a healthy diet that contains plenty of fiber. A diet that is high in fiber will help to keep the bowels functioning properly and moving quickly which keeps the pressure within the colon within normal limits, which stops the formation of diverticula.

If the individual has barium x-rays of the colon or a sigmoidoscopy or a colonoscopy, the condition of diverticulitis can be diagnosed.

The doctor will then devise a treatment plan that will control the inflammation and the infection associated with the condition.