One of the main systems of the human body is the gastrointestinal tract. He is responsible for the processing and further digestibility of all possible food that came through the esophagus to further points of the digestive tract. But sometimes this system fails. Any disease of the stomach and intestines interferes with the full work with food. Read more about these bodies in the article.
Gastrointestinal tract. Functions
The stomach and intestines are one of the main organs of the digestive system, which process the food coming through the esophagus, producing all possible nutrients from it. They perform several functions:
- motor-mechanical, with the help of which the food is chewed and transported through the intestinal sections until the final release;
- secretory - the body processes ground food with the necessary enzymes, bile and gastric juices;
- absorbing - mucous membranes absorb all the vitamins and minerals that are contained in food.
Causes of pathologies and malfunctions
The negative impact of the environment affects the digestive tract, causing unexpected pathologies and provoking the development of serious diseases. There are many reasons for this:
- A person does not eat right. He regularly overeats, is malnourished, then eats too much, then bites one bite, eats too fast or is saturated with the same foods. Preservatives and other additives of the chemical industry, which can be found in most products today, contribute to the gradually deteriorating digestion.
- Bad ecology. An important role in the development of pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract is played by the low quality of water, chemicals in vegetables and fruits, milk and meat of sick animals, and so on.
- Genes contain a tendency to various kinds of diseases.
- A side effect of taking medication.
- Food was prepared in poor sanitary conditions.
- Loose nerves after experiencing stress and shock.
- Hard physical work.
- Infectious damage to the body.
- Together with food, a parasite got into the digestive tract.
- Failures in the endocrine system.
- Bad habits: smoking, drinking alcohol and so on.
These reasons are very common in the modern world, so many people are at risk of sudden problems with the stomach and intestines. Experts recommend regularly checking their health status in order to notice and eliminate developing pathology in time.
Diagnosis of Crohn's disease
It is based on x-ray images and endoscopy results, indicating inflammation of the stomach and intestines, which gradually spreads to other mucous membranes.
In the presence of intestinal inflammation, the level of leukocytes in the feces increases. When the doctor suspects the development of diarrhea, which necessarily accompanies this disease, he must prescribe a laboratory study of feces to identify possible infectious pathogens, eggs, worms or other parasites.
The leading place in the diagnosis of this disease was taken by studies using X-rays with a contrast effect (intubation enterography, double contrast irrigoscopy, studying barium passage, and so on).
When a doctor doubts the results of a previous study, visually detecting inflammation that was not reflected in the results, he can prescribe a scintigraphy involving marked white blood cells. If it is necessary to clarify the area of damage to the mucous membranes, the patient may hear a recommendation for endoscopy. A biopsy will give final confirmation of Crohn’s diagnosis or detect another dangerous disease (dysplasia, cancer).
Symptoms and treatments
The large intestine has an inflamed mucous membrane, which is covered with many ulcers that provoke the occurrence of:
- sudden upsets of the stomach and intestines;
- bloody and mucous stool;
- painful diarrhea, making every act of defecation especially painful for the patient;
- lack of appetite, general weakness and great weight loss;
- regular diarrhea at night;
- constipation
- bouts of fever or excessive sweating.
Crohn's disease affects not only the colon. Its effect gradually spreads to the small intestine, most of the esophagus, stomach and mucous surface of the oral cavity. In advanced cases, fistulas appear (up to 40% of patients).
Among the consequences of this disease, we can mention the gradual clogging of the intestinal cavity with feces, followed by obstruction and the development of pseudopolyposis. In addition to them there are:
- damage to the skin;
- pathological changes in the joints;
- errors in the metabolism that occurs in the bones;
- amyloidosis;
- inflammation of the organs of vision;
- the development of liver disease;
- an increasing set of pathologies of the circulatory system;
- complicated hemostasis;
- inflamed vessels.
Crohn's disease belongs to the category of chronic pathologies, which sometimes have a long period of remission. That is, 30% of patients noted spontaneous improvement in health without any special measures. But such moments are temporary, and after some time, patients again complain of pain in the stomach and intestines, as well as attacks of vomiting.
The doctor develops a treatment technique for each specific case. It should include the patient’s lifestyle, his general condition and the degree of development of the pathology of the gastrointestinal tract at the moment. The patient is recommended to limit himself as much as possible from possible stresses, abandon the smoking habit and regularly take the recommended medications. The specialist selects them for the patient's body and controls their effect in order to exclude most of the side effects.
If drug treatment of the stomach and intestines does not give the expected results, and the disease continues to progress, then specialists resort to surgical methods.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
Characterized by the presence of many unlike each other signs that can occur separately with a certain sequence or all together. Gastroesophageal reflux disease is found in almost 40% of the population of highly developed countries, and this number is regularly increasing.
Diagnostics
The doctor needs to evaluate the condition of the esophagus, so he resorts to using esophagoscopy, which is carried out in conjunction with a biopsy. This study will answer the question about the size of the lesion area that the disease has captured. In parallel, an analysis with esophagitis can be done.
An x-ray of the esophagus with the participation of barium allows you to detect pathological changes in the structure of the digestive tract, which could provoke a hernia of the diaphragm (gastroesophageal reflux). To eliminate errors in confirming or canceling the diagnosis, a specialist monitors the level of gastric acidity for at least 24 hours.
Symptoms
Most often found:
- periodic heartburn;
- gradual thinning of the tooth surface;
- sudden burping;
- cough and hoarse voice;
- chest pain
- swallowing is accompanied by discomfort.
But sometimes this disease does not manifest itself. It is possible to identify it by pure chance. The reason is that minor fluctuations in gastric acidity do not carry a disturbing sensation.
Therapy
Treatment of the stomach and intestines consists in therapy aimed at alleviating the pronounced symptoms, limiting the harm caused by increased levels of gastric acidity, cleansing and additional protection of the mucosal surface of the esophagus.
General recommendations help reduce the incidence of stomach contents being thrown back into the esophagus:
- losing weight or gaining missing weight;
- forget about smoking, alcohol, fatty foods, spirits and chocolates;
- limit the use of acidic foods;
- establish a diet;
- eat a small portion of food at a time;
- sleep only 2 hours after the last meal;
- do not load the abdomen, and less perform actions in which the muscles of this region are involved;
- during sleep, the head should be at a height of 10 to 15 centimeters from the bed, so you need to choose the appropriate pillow.
When compliance with all recommendations does not give the expected result, the doctor prescribes treatment procedures.
Symptoms of Diarrhea
A common cause of intestinal infections is dirty foods or poorly treated water. They spread very quickly throughout the body, provoking the development of dysentery or salmonellosis.
The stool changes, becoming fluid and frequent, forcing the patient to visit the toilet up to 30 times a day. An attempt to tolerate or the act of defecation itself is accompanied by pain and discomfort. A person notes too high a temperature (up to 40 degrees), lack of strength and a desire to re-go to the toilet, even if the intestines are completely empty. Thus, the body signals the presence of toxins.
When frequent stools are repeated for a long time, dehydration appears. This will be indicated by unusually dry skin, dried mucous membranes of the mouth, periodic tachycardia and a decrease in blood pressure.
The most serious complication is cholera. It is on the list of life-threatening intestinal infections. One person who becomes ill with it can trigger the onset of an epidemic.
If the cause of poor functioning of the stomach and intestines is entero-, adeno- or rotavirus infections, then the patient has symptoms characteristic of the flu or the common cold: cough, runny nose, discomfort in the throat, fever, lack of strength, headache, rapid onset of fatigue .
In addition to them, false signs of gastroenteritis may appear: vomiting, nausea, pain in the abdomen, strange stool. They indicate stomach and intestines affected by infections, but have nothing to do with this disease and often go away without special treatment.
Sometimes an intestinal infection is accompanied by another disease that develops in parallel (ulcer, Crohn's disease, oncology) of a new pathology. Such a complicated condition can cause inflammation of the mucous membranes and a gradual increase in erosion and small ulcers on them. They, in turn, remove biological fluid, proteins and electrolytes into the intestinal lumens.
The abdomen begins to hurt on an ongoing basis. The temperature practically does not fall below 38 degrees. The stool is liquid, bloody, with hints of pus. Constant internal bleeding causes anemia and swelling of the intestinal walls.
Patients with chronic pancreatitis can also observe periodic signs of diarrhea. The main reason for their appearance is a complication of the underlying disease. Patients suffer from pain in the abdomen, regular vomiting and loose stools, which are difficult to flush from the surface of the toilet. Unfortunately, they cannot be completely eradicated, but their severity can be reduced by following common recipes for the intestines and stomach. They are based on a diet that excludes fatty, spicy or smoked foods, as well as refusal of alcohol.
In some cases, the patient’s body does not tolerate individual foods. For example, aloe for the stomach and intestines, or honey, are especially dangerous. A person who does not know such features of his body, eats them and then with surprise notes the growing signs of diarrhea, although there were no prerequisites for the disease. As a rule, all unpleasant symptoms disappear with the exception of this product from the diet.
Diseases of the endocrine system interfere with the full absorption of fluid and normal intestinal motility. Food passes too quickly inside the intestine, which does not have time to take from it all the substances it needs. The presence of parasites, on the contrary, inhibits the development of the disease, adding to the list of symptoms with new items:
- bloody feces;
- excruciating pains in the stomach and intestines.
Sometimes completely harmless causes provoke diarrhea. These include a sharp change in the usual diet, a lack or excess of fluid in the body, a change in climatic zones or side effects of certain medications. Symptoms of diarrhea are mild and do not bring much inconvenience. As a rule, they pass by themselves within one week. If medications are to blame, then a medicine that positively affects the intestinal microflora may be needed.
Treatment
To achieve better results in treatment, doctors recommend not delaying the call for help and begin to sound the alarm at the slightest sign of pathology. If the symptoms of the disease indicate intestinal infections, then, first of all, the consultation of a therapist or gastroenterologist is necessary.
At the first stages of the development of diarrhea, the patient's body needs adsorbents that will conduct the maximum possible cleansing of the internal organs. Most often prescribed:
- Enterosgel - take one and a half tablespoons three times a day;
- “Smecta” - one sachet is diluted in 100 ml of cooled boiled water and taken three times a day one hour before or after meals, but after a couple of hours.
If the body shows signs of dehydration, then the list of recommended drugs will be replenished with "Regidron" (one packet per liter of boiled liquid, which must be taken during the day). When intestinal motility is excessively increased, any specialist will advise Imodium or Loperamide. In the case when additional protection against bacteria is needed, “Normax” and “Enterofuril” are prescribed. The preparations that restore the intestinal microflora include Bifidumbacterin, Bifiform and Linex.
If the patient’s body is in a state of pregnancy, then doctors carefully prescribe treatment, trying to limit themselves to adsorbents that do not exceed the permissible doses in this case. When the development of diarrhea proceeds to the next stages and provokes regular vomiting and loose stools, “Regidron”, which protects against dehydration, is included in the prescribed treatment.
Dysbacteriosis
Each case of the disease is strictly individual, therefore, a list of specific symptoms cannot be deduced. They depend on many factors, including the age and state of the patient’s health, the type of microbes that caused the disease, the specifics of the medicines taken before the development of the pathology, and so on.
Diagnostics
This disease is detected both in the case of special tests, and purely by chance, in analyzes for other diagnoses. Dysbacteriosis is characterized by the fact that it can go in conjunction with other intestinal infections.
Most often, this pathology is detected during a microbiological analysis of feces, which provides a complete picture of the state of intestinal microflora and identifies substances that adversely affect harmful microorganisms isolated from the provided material. For such an analysis, one gram of feces of a potential patient is diluted in a special solution and the nutrient medium contained in it is examined. A special point indicating a pathology in the work of the intestine is a halt in the development of bifidobacteria, and the almost complete absence of E. coli. If a specialist finds fungal bacteria, staphylococcus, and so on, then it is safe to say that there is dysbiosis.
To confirm or refute the diagnosis, ultrasound of the abdominal organs, MRI of the stomach and intestines, gastroscopy, colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy or irrigoscopy are prescribed.
Symptoms
Despite the absence of specific symptoms, experts identify a list of common features by which the presence of intestinal pathology can be suspected. It includes:
- lack of appetite;
- anemia;
- rapid onset of fatigue;
- hypovitaminosis;
- causeless weight loss;
- temperature rise;
- leukocytosis;
- periodic shortness of breath;
- tachycardia;
- bradycardia;
- watery feces;
- feces mixed with blood, pus and other pathological fluids.
Cramps periodically run through the inflamed colon, which in turn create constipation and provoke flatulence.
All types of dysbiosis cause pain in the abdomen and various manifestations of allergies, ranging from itching to a rash.
Treatment
When the first symptoms appear, the patient urgently needs to contact a gastroenterologist or therapist who will eliminate the cause of the disease and develop a special diet.
It provides for a complete rejection of the use of alcoholic beverages, restriction of salted, peppered, spicy, fatty, fried foods, as well as the exclusion of baked goods that are sweet and hard for the stomach from the diet. Excessive consumption of coarse fiber is also undesirable. For the benefit of the stomach and intestines, the diet is based on the use of fruits, berries, vegetables and fermented milk products. Such food is perfectly absorbed in the body and helps to avoid rotting processes that exacerbate the general condition.
In severe cases, the doctor prescribes a medicine with antibacterial effects or antibiotics that can affect existing pathogenic microorganisms. For example, you can recall "Azithromycin", "Gentamicin", "Tsiprolet", "Cefazolin" and so on, which kill any staphylococcal dysbiosis. "Gentamicin" refers to universal remedies that are suitable against a cytrobacter or Klebsiella.
"Flucostat" copes with the candida variety of the disease. If the patient's health leaves much to be desired, antibiotics are exchanged for drugs with nitrofuran or various bacteriophages: staphylococcal, proteinaceous and so on.
The recommended course of treatment with nitrofurans and antibiotics does not exceed 10 days. Bacteriophages take a little longer, several courses, each of which lasts about a week with a break of about 3 days. How many courses are needed, the doctor decides, taking into account the severity of the disease and the effectiveness of the impact of each treatment course.
After drug therapy, the stage of restoration of intestinal microflora begins. For this, probiotics are prescribed: Lactobacterin, Bifidumbacterin, Bifikol and so on. The duration of use depends on the harm caused by the underlying disease, and therefore ranges from a couple of weeks to 2 months. For additional exposure, enzymatic medicines, vitamins and immunostimulants are prescribed. The need for their use is determined by the doctor. To achieve the maximum effect, he can advise how to clean the stomach and intestines at home.
Flatulence disease
It manifests itself in an increased level of gas formation and is a very common pathology of the gastrointestinal tract. Very healthy people are also affected, especially when they begin to overeat, preferring products that provoke profuse gas formation.
If the gases exceed the level acceptable for the intestine, which it can absorb or remove, then favorable conditions arise for the accumulation of gases in the gastrointestinal tract. They, in turn, provoke the development of flatulence, which occurs in several varieties:
- being at a certain height, contributing to an increase in pressure in the intestinal region;
- a diet oversaturated with legumes and cellulose;
- stress, nervous tension, or emotional overload;
- digestive pathology;
- circulatory system disorders;
- the presence of dangerous bacteria in the intestine;
- intestinal membranes lose their motor functions;
- a disease that interferes with the intestine in time to eliminate waste products of the body.
Symptoms
The main symptoms are bloating in the abdomen, excruciating pains similar to contractions, nausea and belching attacks, lack of appetite, constipation, painful diarrhea.
Flatulence can manifest itself as follows:
- Abundant and regular gas formation, almost uncontrollable by the person himself. This fact negatively affects his social connections and social life. But, despite such a nuisance, their selection is not accompanied by severe pain. The maximum that patients note is unpleasant sensations, similar to rumbling and iridescent feeling.
- Visually noticeable bloating without the slightest sign of gas. They are not released by spasms of the colon, causing discomfort to the whole body and provoking an upset stomach and intestines.
Flatulence sometimes provokes the development of parallel, at first glance, unrelated diseases. These can be sleep disturbances, lack of strength, mood swings, heart rhythm abnormalities, and so on.
Treatment
All treatment of this disease is aimed at eliminating the provoking factor that is to blame for the overestimated degree of gas formation. It consists of certain points:
- restructuring the daily diet in the regime of a correctional diet;
- cleansing the intestines from stagnant gases;
- drug treatment of the cause of the disease;
- elimination of pathologies in the biocenosis of intestinal microflora;
- prevention of movement errors.
When it comes to the treatment of flatulence, absorbing drugs are especially popular: coal, white clay, Polysorb, Polyphepan, Dimethicone. They impede the absorption of harmful substances contained in gases, and gradually remove them from the body. To achieve carminative effects, herbal and intestinal medicines are included in the general course: cumin, mint, coriander, chamomile, dill and fennel.
If the underlying disease is complicated by a lack of digestive enzymes, then gradually the patient will discover pathologies in the process of digesting food. To avoid this, prescribe "Pepsin", medications containing real stomach acid, "Pancreatin" and some combination drugs.