Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Dr. Weyrich's Naturopathic Functional Medicine Notebook
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Overview
Inflammatory bowel diseases include a number of different disorders in which all or part of the alimentary tract is chronically inflamed. Although in some cases successful treatment may suggest underlying mechanisms, in many cases the exact causative mechanism remains controversial.Signs and Symptoms
- Abdominal pain.
- Rectal bleeding.
- Blood in stool.
- Unexplained weight gain or loss.
- Vomiting.
Diagnosis
Symptoms may suggest endoscopy studies, perhaps with biopsy of inflamed areas.Differential Diagnosis
- Crohn's disease (may involve any part of the digestive tract).
- Ulcerative colitis (only involves the colon and/or rectum).
- Hemorrhoids (anal pain or bleeding).
- Anal fissure (anal pain or bleeding).
Treatment
Conventional treatment consists of symptom relief through the use of immune suppressing drugs that reduce inflammation, such as methotrexate, azathioprine (Imuran), mercaptopurine, or sulfasalzine.Sequelae
Although the symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases may impact the quality of life, the disease is rarely fatal. However, inflammation does increase the risk of neoplastic changes (cancers).ICD-9 Codes
| ICD9-Code | Description | Comments |
|---|---|---|
References
Unless specifically noted above, references used in the construction of this web page include the following:[FDM] Lecture notes from Functional Medicine University.
[SCNM] Lecture notes from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine.
[UT] Lecture notes from the University of Tennessee graduate programs in Chemistry and Biochemistry.
[Wikipedia2009] fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maladies_inflammatoires_chroniques_intestinales.
Copyright © 2007-2010 Dr. Weyrich (Naturopathic Medical license number 07-1008). The information on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease or illness. The statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
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