Saturday, May 7, 2011

Intestinal Problems

Civilization has changed man forever. It started off, with the primitive man's instinct for survival and now it is all about, the civilized man's effort to elude infections. Nevertheless, the human body is known for its superiority over other forms of living beings. This has been conveniently turned into a garbage dump, merely to be infested with bacteria and viruses which has over a period of time abused our body to the extent of no repair. Ignorance prompts man to do things that he regrets later. The food that he eats, turns into poison in his stomach, defeating the very purpose of survival.

The food ingested gets into our alimentary canal which comprises of the small and the large intestine. The intestines initiate and complete the process of digestion by breaking down the food, and flushes the system by excreting the waste products. Indigestion of the food consumed is the cause of various intestinal problems. Diarrhea, acidity, constipation, intestinal pain after eating, irritable bowel syndrome, intestinal blockage, gas production are some of the digestive problems experienced mostly by all of us. We will talk about some of the intestinal problems that are common and affect our day to day activities. Read more on digestive system diseases.

Intestinal Infection
Intake of contaminated food or water causes food poisoning and other food borne illnesses. The presence of microorganisms like bacteria, viruses and other pathogens can successfully infect the intestines causing infection of the intestine, generally referred to as gastroenteritis. The bacteria responsible for outbreak of intestinal infections are Salmonella, Shigella, E.coli, Staphylococcus, Listeria, Campylobacter, Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens. The toxins of these bacteria travel through the blood stream and cause different symptoms underlying the infection. There are some intestinal parasites which get into the intestine through various ways; eating uncooked or unwashed foods, contaminated hands or water and physical contact with larva-infected soil. Once inside the intestine, they populate the gastrointestinal tract and colonize the walls of the intestine. Protozoans and helminths are the major groups of parasites that can cause intestinal problems, leading to infection. The most common protozoans are cryptosporidium, microsporidia and isospora. Know more about intestinal parasites in humans and intestinal parasites symptoms.

Intestinal Infection: Symptoms

    Bloody stools
    Chronic fatigue
    Loss of appetite
    Cramps
    Abdominal pain
    Nausea
    Diarrhea
    Weight loss
    Vomiting

Intestinal Infection: Treatment
Usually, this infection runs its course and subsides by itself. If bloody stool is one of the symptoms, it has to be referred to a doctor immediately. The doctor will ideally, prescribe antibiotics after conducting a physical examination. The bacterial infection can be treated at home by following a liquid diet. Buttermilk, lime juice, ginger tea, peppermint tea are highly recommended for a person infected with gastroenteritis. Learn more about intestinal infection symptoms.

Intestinal Blockage
As the name suggests, intestinal blockage, is a complete or partial blockage of the intestine that prevents the waste to transit smoothly through the intestinal passage. The causes of intestinal blockage or obstruction can be attributed to mechanical factors like endometriosis, hernia, inflammatory bowel disease, colon atresia, gallstones, tumors and impacted feces. Pseudo-obstruction is caused by an condition called ileus.

No comments:

Post a Comment