Diverticula of the large intestine. Causes and symptoms of diverticular disease

Colorectal diverticula found on ultrasound are usually nothing to worry about. The more serious disease is diverticulitis of the large intestine. Do you know what symptoms both diseases cause?

Diverticula in the intestine usually develop in people in their forties. In younger people, diverticula of the large intestine are rarely formed, because you have to "work" for them by following a diet low in fiber for many years. Their frequency increases with age. About 30 percent of them have them. sixty-year-olds and probably 80-90 percent. Poles over 75. They are a disease of civilization that rarely occurs in poor countries in Africa or Asia.

In which part of the digestive tract do diverticula form?

The large intestine is made up of the cecum, colon and rectum. The colon is its longest section, which consists of four parts: ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid (called sigmoid).

It is in this last part, lying on the left side of the abdomen, 90 percent. there are diverticula in cases. They can also form in the remaining sections of the large intestine (except the rectum), but the sigmoid colon is the most numerous. These are protrusions in the wall of the large intestine - the mucosa lining its interior squeezes through the muscle layer, creating small pockets.

The cause of diverticula is a low-residual diet

The cause of this process is that you eat too little fiber. A lean diet leads to an extended intestinal transit and a reduction in the volume of fecal masses. This forces the colon to contract excessively - then the pressure in the intestine increases, which causes the mucosa to be forced out. The formation of diverticula is also fostered by certain genetic predispositions (weakness of the muscles of the large intestine) and stress.

Diverticulosis or diverticulitis?

Usually diverticula do not bother us and we do not have to worry about them at all until symptoms appear (this applies to 10-15% of people). We are talking then about diverticulosis of the large intestine.

Symptoms of diverticulosis may include:

• constipation (sometimes also diarrhea)
• aching pain on the left side of the abdomen,
• often aggravating after eating,
• feeling of incomplete bowel movements,
• empty pressures (there is no defecation after them),
• indigestion,
• feeling of discomfort.

These symptoms, however, are not very characteristic because they also occur in other diseases of the digestive system. A doctor diagnosed diverticulosis is not a serious problem until diverticulitis develop

The symptoms of diverticulitis are:

• stomach pain,
• fever,
• problems with bowel movements and even stool retention.

Treatment of inflammation should not be delayed because it causes serious complications, such as perforation of the colon wall or peritonitis, which require immediate surgical intervention.