How do you tell if that stomachache and diarrhoea are from last night's dodgy dinner, irritable bowel syndrome or an inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis?With our love for food and penchant for food hunting , ingesting the odd tummy-upsetting pathogen is almost par for the course – along with a bout or two of abdominal discomfort, diarrhoea or changes in bowel habits.
Illustrations showing where Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis may affect the colon. In Crohn's disease, the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small bowel and anus may also be affected. Weelcerative colitis affects the left side of the colon and rectum. Its hallmark feature is continuous areas of shallow ulceration of the colon.”Currently, it is estimated that there are 1,500 individuals, who may be suffering from IBD in Singapore, of which 200 are children,” said Dr Sulaiman.
The two are not interchangeable."Diarrhoea" refers to the texture and consistency of the stools, which are often"watery","lack form" and are"mushy or purely liquid", explained Dr Eric Wee, “There are many modern treatment options available and they include classes of drugs such as steroids, aminosalicylates, immunomodulators, biologic therapies, small molecule drugs and JAK inhibitorsata from clinical trials. That means avoiding triggering foods such as processed food, preservatives, artificial sweeteners and emulsifiers as well as minimising gluten, dairy and alcohol.