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Digestive Illnesses that Contribute
to Rectal Disease
During examinations, I use
a lighted scope to view up into the sigmoid
colon (the section that connects to the rectum) and that gives me
a surprisingly good picture of colon health and function. It allows me to
see whether the rectal illness I see originates primarily in the
colon, and treat it accordingly.
When I see that a patient might have Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, colorectal
cancer or other chronic digestive ailment, that causes me concern. In
many cases they haven’t been diagnosed yet.
Crohn's Disease for example is a nonspecific digestive tract infection
that can occur anywhere from the lips to the anal opening, and it's
characterized by open bleeding lesions of chronic inflamed tissue. Diarrhea
usually is the first symptom, and a persistent symptom. The
lesions occur most often and most intensely in the illeum (first
section of the large intestine) or the small intestine.
Fissures, especially non-painful
fissures in the rectum, are symptomatic of Crohn’s. Ten
to 15% of all Crohn's Disease originates in the anal/rectal area.
In the standard medical model, Crohn’s is usually chronic
because they don’t have a way to heal it, so it is managed
similarly to ulcerative colitis, using prednisone, sulfadines, anti-inflammatories
and antibiotics. But for most people it’s still a downward
spiral – they get anemic, chronic diarrhea, and then they get
secondary infections around the anus, like fistulas, abscesses,
and of course fissures.
Medically, there is no known “cure” for Crohn’s
yet, but there’s growing evidence that some wellness
protocols have the sophistication to treat
it effectively and get beyond just management. I’m always
interested in hard data about such methods.
Lifestyle Factors that
Contribute to Rectal Disease
Diathermy
When To Seek Help
Are You In Pain?
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