Small, abnormal pouches called diverticula line the colon or large intestine and bulge outward through weak spots in the intestinal wall. Diverticulitis occurs when the pouches become inflamed from either bacteria or stool. The remedies for...
Infants have very sensitive skin that is easily irritated by a number of factors, including chemicals, climate, clothing and allergens. This is why rashes are much more common in babies than in older children or adults. Rashes in infants are...
Dysentery is the result of inflammation and swelling within the intestinal walls, which causes food and water to be improperly absorbed, leading to diarrhea. Bacterial dysentery is caused by bacteria infecting the intestines, leading to localized...
Diverticulosis is a condition characterized by small pouches in the lining of your colon. When these pouches become inflamed, it results in diverticulitis. According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, 10 percent of...
Salmonellosis is an intestinal bacterial infection caused by inadvertent ingestion of the Salmonella bacterium. Common symptoms include fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps or pain, which develop within one to three days of ingesting the...
Herpes, according to the American Social Health Association, is a common and usually mild skin condition characterized by episodic recurrence. Most infections are unrecognized and undiagnosed. Familiarizing yourself with herpes breakout symptoms...
Colitis, also called ulcerative colitis, occurs when inflammation affects the inner layer of the colon or rectum. When inflammation destroys the cells, ulcers that cause bleeding develop. Ulcerative colitis affects both men and women and usually...
Dietary fiber, also called roughage or bulk, includes all parts of plant foods that the body can't digest. It has several important roles in maintaining health, including normalizing bowel movements, maintaining bowel health, lowering cholesterol...
Small pouches in the lining of your colon called diverticula form weak spots that create a condition called diverticulosis. When the diverticula become inflamed, the condition becomes diverticulitis, which commonly results in severe abdominal pain...
Diverticula, or a small pouch formed inside the lining of the colon, are most commonly diagnosed in patients over age 60, according to the American College of Gastroenterology. Diverticulosis, the presence of numerous diverticula, generally has no...
Numerous food-related pathogens can cause poor health or disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, although the food supply in the United States is generally considered safe, food can sometimes be contaminated...
Your digestive system is an efficient factory that takes the raw materials you supply through your diet, breaks those materials down, uses what it can for maintenance and energy, then eliminates the rest through the efficient trash compactor of...
The American Dietetic Association encourages people to get 20 to 35 g of fiber a day. If you're like many Americans, you're probably consuming only a portion of that amount. Not getting enough fiber is associated with not only constipation but...
You probably think bacteria should be avoided whenever possible, but some bacteria are necessary for human health. Many beneficial bacteria live in your intestines and contribute to intestinal and overall health. Fermented foods, called...
Food poisoning is not a common cause of intestinal obstruction, a condition where stool cannot pass through the intestines, although botulism, a type of food poisoning, can cause ileus, a slowdown or stoppage of peristalsis. Peristalsis, the...
One in five American adults is infected with genital herpes, notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, in some cases, genital herpes may also affect the anus. Anal herpes are most commonly experienced by people who...
Washing hands is one of the easiest ways to prevent illness, says the Mayo Clinic. It is a very simple process, taking only 15 seconds and requiring only soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. A person should wash his hands before and...
Some patients have genetic mutations that cause problems with the way the immune system functions. These problems, called primary immunodeficiency disorders, can lead to patients suffering from recurring infections. One such disorder, chronic...
White blood cells are the specialized cells in the blood responsible for fighting infections and providing the body with immunity. The kidneys filter about 200 quarts of blood a day, according to The National Kidney and Urologic Diseases...
Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, refers to a category of conditions characterized by chronic inflammation of the intestines. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are forms of IBD. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea,...
Typhoid fever is a systemic illness caused by Salmonella typhi bacteria. Globally it affects 17 million people and causes 600,000 deaths per year, as estimated by the World Health Organization, or WHO. It occurs much less in developed countries...
Mucus is a slimy, slippery fluid that acts as a lubricant and protects various structures in the body. There are a number of mucus-secreting cells in the body, but mucus is most prominent in the respiratory, genital and gastrointestinal tracts,...
The urinary bladder is a muscular, pouch-like organ that stores urine from the kidneys until passage from the body. Infections, structural abnormalities, nerve disorders and other medical conditions can cause bladder symptoms. The nature of the...
If you're like most Americans, you're most likely not getting enough fiber in your diet. A lack of fiber can lead to constipation and other digestive complications. Benefiber is a dietary fiber supplement brand that uses dextrin as its primary...
Adults and children occasionally produce green stools for a variety of reasons, from antibiotic medications and health conditions to the food you ate last night. Provided you ate artificially dyed food or naturally green vegetables, such as...
A gastric ulcer is a sore found in the lining of the stomach that is caused by bacterial infection or drugs. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, bacteria like Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) cause 80 percent of gastric ulcers....
Diarrhea can be symptomatic of multiple illnesses, such as the flu, but shigellosis is a particularly virulent form of diarrhea caused by the shigella bacteria group. With shigellosis, the diarrhea is often bloody and pus-filled. You can become...
People commonly flush their colons to relieve constipation, lose weight, boost their immune systems or cleanse their bodies of toxins. Prunes and prune juice contain fiber, which promotes healthy colon function. A healthy colon naturally flushes...
Diverticulitis is the inflammation of one or more diverticula, or abnormal pouches, that are located in the wall of the intestine. The pouches are most often found in the large intestine, although they can form in any part of the digestive system,...
