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There are two types of intestines (bowels), a long narrow intestine which is quite narrow which is called the small intestine (bowel) because of its narrower width and the large intestine (bowel) which is much shorted than the small intestine but wider.
Bloating
Abdominal pain
Coeliac disease
Bacterial overgrowth
Adhesions
Obstruction
Bleeding (and anaemia)
Crohn’s disease
This is the feeling that here is too much inside the intestines. The abdomen feels stretched by its content. This can occur when people eat too much food and have “gorged” themselves, when they have swallowed a lot of air- sometimes when in pain or very anxious, or when they have taken in large amounts of foods which swell when inside such as dehydrated foods, dried fruits etc.
Sometimes the stomach empties its content into the intestine too quickly and this causes the sensation of bloating. Occasionally people have an oversensitive intestine which gives them the sensation of bloating even when there is not really any distension present. This is called “irritable bowel syndrome”
Sometimes the stomach empties its content into the intestine too quickly and this causes the sensation of bloating. Occasionally people have an oversensitive intestine which gives them the sensation of bloating even when there is not really any distension present. This is called “irritable bowel syndrome”
Abdominal pain is usually thought of as pain that arises ( or seems to arise ) from any part of the abdomen (the area between the rib cage above and the pelvic bones below, on the front and sides of the body). This is a symptom, and has many causes. Any of the organs in the abdomen can cause pain, some can do this because harmless conditions or circumstances, such as too much gas (wind) or being overly sensitive (irritable bowel syndrome). Occasionally abdominal pain is the sign of a more serious underlying condition.
Under normal circumstances there are a relatively low number of bacteria in the small intestine compared to the large intestine (colon). The bacteria are kept at this low level by the constant sweeping effects of the contractions that travel down the entire length of the intestine at regular intervals which have the effect of sweeping out all the remains of food that was eaten at a previous meal. If the food content is kept to a minimum then bacteria have nothing to eat and can not multiply in the intestine. However, if the sweeping action is lost or impaired then the food debris builds up and the bacteria have plenty off food to eat and their numbers increase rapidly. This can lead to damage to the lining of the intestine and then result in failure to absorb food properly. This can in turn cause the symptoms of diarrhoea and also failure to absorb food properly which might lead to weight loss and vitamin deficiencies. This condition sometimes occurs in the elderly as the nerves controlling the sweeping function of the intestine can wear out (atrophy) with age.
The lining of the small intestine is covered with tiny little finger like projections called villi, these increase the surface area of the intestine which then allows much more surface for absorbing foods. If these fingers (or villi) are lost some of the food can not be absorbed and passes straight through into the large intestine where it can cause diarrhoea and often a lot of wind (gas). People who do not absorb their food properly can become ill from lack of appropriate nutrients such as vitamins. Several diseases can result in the loss of these intestinal fingers but by far the most common is Coeliac disease. This is a type of allergy to a protein found in wheat called Gluten. It is though that this allergy to wheat (Coeliac disease) affects around 0.5 % of the British population and is even commoner in Ireland. It is usually easy to treat coeliac disease by removing all Gluten from the diet, gradually over a year or so all the fingers grow back and normal function is restored.
Under normal circumstances there are a relatively low number of bacteria in the small intestine compared to the large intestine (colon). The bacteria are kept at this low level by the constant sweeping effects of the contractions that travel down the entire length of the intestine at regular intervals which have the effect of sweeping out all the remains of food that was eaten at a previous meal. If the food content is kept to a minimum then bacteria have nothing to eat and can not multiply in the intestine. However, if the sweeping action is lost or impaired then the food debris builds up and the bacteria have plenty off food to eat and their numbers increase rapidly. This can lead to damage to the lining of the intestine and then result in failure to absorb food properly. This can in turn cause the symptoms of diarrhoea and also failure to absorb food properly which might lead to weight loss and vitamin deficiencies. This condition sometimes occurs in the elderly as the nerves controlling the sweeping function of the intestine can wear out (atrophy) with age.
This term is quite well known by non-medical people and is frequently used to explain pain occurring after an operation. Many believe that pain arising from adhesions is far less common than normally considered to be the case. Many surgeons consider that pain resulting from adhesions is the result of twists in the intestine caused by these adhesions, and that pain will only occur if the twists cause obstruction to the passage of food, thereby causing distension of the intestine above the twist. Others feels that adhesions can cause pain even if they are not causing obstruction. The problem with dividing these adhesions at a further operation is that more adhesions will form and the more operations that people have the more adhesions will develop. As you can see it is quite a difficult problem and expert help is needed to work out the best treatment
This occurs when the contents of the intestine are prevented from travelling any further and become blocked. This often results in distension of the intestine above the level of blockage and pain results from the attempts of the intestine to overcome the blockage. This type of pain usually occurs in waves and is often called “colic”. Obstruction is a serious problem and needs to be treated on an urgent basis in the hospital.
Bleeding can occur from any part of the intestinal tract. When there is a large amount of bleeding it is usually quite obvious as it comes out in he stool either as bright red blood or darker shades of red or black ( called melaena) if the bleeding site is high up in the intestine or stomach. Some times there is only a small amount of bleeding and this can not be seen in the stool. This small amount of blood loss can over time result in anaemia.
In Crohn’s disease ulcers occur in the intestinal tract. These can occur in any part from the mouth to the anus. The ulcers can bleed causing anaemia and large numbers of ulcers can affect parts of the large and small intestine so that the normal function of these areas is upset, which can result in diarrhoea, weight loss, pain and vitamin deficiencies.
The lining of the small intestine is covered with tiny little finger like projections called villi, these increase the surface area of the intestine which then allows much more surface for absorbing foods. If these fingers (or villi) are lost some of the food can not be absorbed and passes straight through into the large intestine where it can cause diarrhoea and often a lot of wind (gas). People who do not absorb their food properly can become ill from lack of appropriate nutrients such as vitamins. Several diseases can result in the loss of these intestinal fingers but by far the most common is Coeliac disease. This is a type of allergy to a protein found in wheat called Gluten. It is though that this allergy to wheat (Coeliac disease) affects around 0.5 % of the British population and is even commoner in Ireland. It is usually easy to treat coeliac disease by removing all Gluten from the diet, gradually over a year or so all the fingers grow back and normal function is restored.
Under normal circumstances there are a relatively low number of bacteria in the small intestine compared to the large intestine (colon). The bacteria are kept at this low level by the constant sweeping effects of the contractions that travel down the entire length of the intestine at regular intervals which have the effect of sweeping out all the remains of food that was eaten at a previous meal. If the food content is kept to a minimum then bacteria have nothing to eat and can not multiply in the intestine. However, if the sweeping action is lost or impaired then the food debris builds up and the bacteria have plenty off food to eat and their numbers increase rapidly. This can lead to damage to the lining of the intestine and then result in failure to absorb food properly. This can in turn cause the symptoms of diarrhoea and also failure to absorb food properly which might lead to weight loss and vitamin deficiencies. This condition sometimes occurs in the elderly as the nerves controlling the sweeping function of the intestine can wear out (atrophy) with age.