Diarrhea is unpleasant enough, but chronic diarrhea can pose a health risk. J.Thomas LaMont, M.D., of UpToDate Online, defines chronic diarrhea as loose stools lasting a minimum of four weeks, with at least one episode per day. To properly treat...
A colonoscopy is a diagnostic procedure in which a flexible, lighted tube with a camera mounted on the end is inserted into the large intestine via the anus in order to visualize the intestinal lining of the rectum and colon. It is a useful test...
Infant formula protein allergy, also known as cow's milk protein or CMP allergy, affects around 5 to 15 percent of infants, according to the October 2007 issue of "Archives of Disease in Childhood." CMP allergy occurs when an infant develops an...
"If your baby is allergic to a food, her body treats the food like an invader and launches an immune-system attack," says BabyCenter.com, an informational website for parents of infants. Food allergies in babies and young children occur more often...
Gastric Antral Vascular Ectasia, or GAVE, is a rare illness characterized by red streaks in the stomach wall. These streaks give the condition its nickname "watermelon stomach," because they resemble the striped rind of a watermelon....
Colon cancer and Crohn's disease are both debilitating diseases that affect the gastrointestinal system. However, colon cancer is potentially life-threatening, whereas Crohn's disease increases your risk for colon cancer.
Namenda (generic name: memantine) is a medication used to treat the dementia of Alzheimer's disease. According to the National Library of Medicine, your doctor can prescribe a 10mg dose, but other doses are available, depending on the severity of...
The herb neem is widely used by Ayurvedic practitioners and folk herbalists as a "cure all" for many types of diseases. However, since neem's effectiveness is mainly anecdotal, based on the personal experiences of others, and has not been proved...
Ascites, the accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity, causes symptoms that include difficulty breathing due to pressure on the lungs, loss of appetite because of pressure on the stomach and abdominal swelling. Many diseases and conditions...
Neem has been used for thousands of years in Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine, to address an eclectic mix of conditions, including but not limited to diabetes, skin disease, fungal infections, viral infections, fever, parasites...
Neem is a tree from India whose leaves, stems, oil and bark are purported to have medicinal benefits. Neem is used in a multitude of herbal remedies for humans and pets. Additionally, neem oil has been shown to have some effective qualities as a...
Conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis all cause joint inflammation, a painful side effect you typically suffer from when diagnosed with one of the aforementioned diseases. Medications such as Remicade...
Iron deficiency anemia occurs when you have too little iron in your blood. Iron in the blood carries oxygen to the different parts of your body, so having too little can affect your organs and tissues. It may be caused by having an iron-deficient...
Loose stools, or diarrhea, affect everyone at some time or another. When it becomes frequent or chronic, the underlying cause needs identification and treatment. Diarrhea passes a large volume of body fluid with the stools. Frequent loose stools...
People who have large hiatal hernias may experience symptoms that are similar to indigestion. A hiatal hernia occurs when a hole is created in your diaphragm and allows a small part of your stomach to poke through. When the hernia becomes...
A duodenal ulcer is an ulceration in the mucosal lining of the duodenum. It is believed that lifestyle, acid and pepsin, and H. pylori play a role in ulcer development, but H. pylori is considered to be the primary cause of an ulcer, states...
Colon cancer may not produce symptoms until it's quite advanced. It's usually painless and develops deep in the abdomen, where it enlarges over time. Microscopic blood loss or gross bleeding may herald the existence of colon cancer. If the tumor...
Nearly everyone will experience abdominal pain at some time. Such discomfort, often called "stomach pain," can signify a transient, benign problem, or it can herald something far more serious, such as ulcers, gallbladder disease or even cancer....
Niacin, also known as B3 and nicotinic acid, is one of the eight B vitamins. Niacin is naturally found in plant and animal foods. Niacin helps the body convert food into energy. It also helps the body make sex and stress hormones. Niacin...
Digestive disorders affect about 70 million Americans and require nearly 60 million doctor, outpatient and emergency room visits, as reported by Johns Hopkins Health Alerts. Some of the most common digestive disorders include ulcers,...
Bleeding stomach ulcers, also known as peptic ulcers, stem from a variety of factors, such as consuming nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories and aspirin, excessive alcohol intake and experiencing high amounts of stress on a daily basis. According to...
Up to a million Americans are thought to have some form of inflammatory bowel disease, according to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA); about half of them have ulcerative colitis and the other half have Crohn's disease. Crohn's,...
Medical symptoms or conditions in which no anatomical abnormalities are found are labeled functional disorders. Functional bowel disease involves the gastrointestinal system, usually the mid or lower digestive tract, and is also known as irritable...
Not everyone needs iron supplements. A mineral necessary for red blood cell manufacture and oxygen transport, iron is found in all types of meat as heme iron and in plants as non-heme iron. Iron deficiency requiring supplementation occurs most...
The cecum connects the large intestine and the small intestine. While most colorectal cancers arise in the far end of the colon, the rectum and sigmoid colon, the cecum is the next most common site for cancer to arise, according to the Surgical...
Pizza reigns supreme as a popular choice for snacks and meals. The magazine "Pizza Today" reports that the savory pies are a $40 billion annual industry in the United States, with 3 billion fresh pizzas sold in 2007 alone. For some, however, this...
Allergic colitis is a health condition that causes an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. It primarily occurs in infants and is caused by an immune reaction to the proteins found in milk and formula. Allergic colitis is usually treated...
Gastritis is the inflammation of the stomach lining/gastric mucosa. It is caused by myriad factors, the most important being a bacterial infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) of the stomach gastric mucosa. Other causes include regular...
Hookworm is a parasitic infestation in the small intestine and the lungs that begins when a hookworm penetrates the skin and migrates to these organs. More common in tropic and subtropic developing countries with poor hygienic conditions,...
