What Are the Symptoms of diverticulitis?

-Severe, cramping abdominal pain that is usually worse on the left side.

-Nausea.

-Chills or fever.

-Constipation, thin stools, or diarrhea.

-Pain in the lower left quadrant of the abdomen that increases when the area is touched.

-Rectal bleeding (rare).

Call Your Doctor Immediately If:

-You have a fever, chills, and abdominal swelling, or are vomiting, or your abdomen becomes rigid and your experience pain when you move; you could have peritonitis, an infection of the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity. Get medical help immediately.

-Blood appears in stools; this indicates internal bleeding.

-You have a fever; you may have an infection that requires medication.

-Severe pain continues despite treatment; you may have another abdominal disorder.

PREVENTION

The path to preventing diverticulitis lies in the prevention of diverticular pouches or sacs. How do you avoid developing diverticular pouches I hear you say? Well like most digestive diseases the prevention is primarily about carefully planning your diet. Western societies our diets are composed of far too much processed and refined products. The bowel often has great difficulty in moving these foods through the digestive tract and the resulting pressure on the colon may generate diverticular sacs and moreover, diverticulitis. You can visit http://www.diverticulitis1.com for further information about prevention. Another issue that diverticulitis sufferers must be acutely aware of is hydration levels. Digestion of food requires large amounts of water and peristaltic movement of the intestine is made particularly difficult when food matter is dry. It is advisable for adults to drink at least 8 ounces of water per day and for people with diverticulitis should see this as a minimum.

Another way to improve diet artificially is to use stool softeners and high-fiber supplements that are available over the counter. The other thing to do is make sure that you don't resist the urge to go to the bathroom. More information is avaialble at http://www.diverticulosis1.com. Holding it in may be a large part of your digestive problem and is not a healthy practice.

All the information provided at http://www.diverticulitis1.com is purely for informational purposes and professional medical consultation should be sought by anyone suspecting a digestive disease.

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