Diverticulitis

Diverticula are bulging sacs that can appear in the lining of your large intestine. Diverticulitis occurs when these sacs get acutely infected or inflamed. Although diverticula are most common in the large intestine (colon), they can develop anywhere in your digestive tract. Pain in the lower left side of your abdomen may indicate diverticulitis, especially when it’s accompanied by rectal bleeding. The condition is treatable

The most common and severe sign of diverticulitis is sudden pain on the lower left side of the abdomen. This pain can sometimes get worse over a few days. Other signs that you might have diverticulitis like abdominal pain and tenderness, usually on the lower left side, nausea, vomiting, constipation, fever, gas or bloating, diarrhea, loss of appetite, rectal bleeding that’s usually bright red

Gradually increasing the amount of fiber in the diet through fruits, vegetables, wheat bran, and possibly the regular use of a fiber supplement.Getting plenty of fluids daily.Having regular doctor visits to monitor your condition. If you have diverticulitis, the doctor may see you about 2 days after treatment begins to make sure you are improving. A colonoscopy or barium enema X-ray probably will be done about 6 weeks later, after symptoms are under control, to look for any other problems, such as inflammatory bowel disease or colon cancer.

Forty-five per cent of patients in the study population had diverticular disease. Older patients were more likely to have LDD, whereas the Chinese ethnic group was more likely to have RDD. Right-sided diverticular disease peaks at in the sixth decade, while for LDD this occurred in the seventh and eighth decades. Right-sided diverticular disease was more common in all age groups overall. When compared with two barium enema studies carried out in Singapore two decades earlier, there was a statistically significant increase in the incidence of RDD and LDD.