Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
Inflammatory
bowel disease is the name of a group of disorders that cause the
intestines to
become inflamed (red and swollen). The inflammation lasts a long time
and
usually comes back over and over again. More than 600,000 Americans
have some
kind of inflammatory bowel disease every year.
If you
have inflammatory bowel disease, you may have abdominal cramps and
pain,
diarrhea, weight loss and bleeding from your intestines. Two kinds of
inflammatory bowel disease are Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Crohn's
disease usually causes ulcers (open sores) along the length of the
small and
large intestines. Crohn's disease either spares the rectum, or causes
inflammation or infection with drainage around the rectum. Ulcerative
colitis
usually causes ulcers in the lower part of the large intestine, often
starting
at the rectum.
The causes of Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
The exact causes are unknown. The disease may be caused by a germ or by an immune system problem. You don't have to worry about your family members catching the disease from you, because it isn't contagious. However, inflammatory bowel disease does seem to be hereditary (runs in your family).
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) | Inflammatory bowel disease | Ulcerative colitis | Crohn’s disease
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