Facts about IBD Washington DC

IBD is an abbreviation that stands for inflammatory bowel disease.  About one and a half million people in the United States have IBD Washington DC.  IBD is an over-arching category that includes both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.    While there is presently no permanent cure for inflammatory bowel disease Washington DC, there are a number of effective treatments that can help patients to manage their conditions and decrease the number of flare ups that they experience.

Symptoms of IBD DC

Both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are autoimmune disorders that cause the body to attack its own, perfectly functional, organs.  In this case, the gastrointestinal tract is the target of the attack.  Both of these diagnoses cause symptoms  like abdominal pain, persisted diarrhea, stomach cramps, rectal bleeding and fatigue.  Like many other autoimmune disorders, these diseases may go though remission periods of various lengths before re-surfacing.  Sometimes, a reoccurrence will have identical symptoms to previous episodes.  Sometimes symptoms will be completely different.  Stress is thought to increase the likelihood of an attack.

IBD Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

Crohn's disease is characterized by its capacity to cause inflammation in any part of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus.  It usually impacts specific parts of the digestives system, but not others.  When it appears in the bowel wall, its lesions can possibly extend through the entire thickness of the wall.

On the other hand, ulcerative colitis causes inflammation only in the large intestine and the rectum.  It is limited to the innermost layer of the colon, and is often limited to the lower bowel and rectal areas.  Advanced cases of ulcerative colitis can involve the entire large bowel.  Some patients with very bad cases of ulcerative colitis eventually develop colon cancer.

Causes of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Everyone's digestive system contains some harmless bacteria that assist in the process of breaking down food into nutrients and waste.  These bacteria are normally not targeted by the body's immune system.  It is believed that environmental factors are to blame when the immune system does target them, leading to an inflammatory bowel disease.  It is not fully understood what aspects of the environment are responsible for this process.