It's normal to suffer from occasional bouts of constipation, diarrhea and crampy abdominal pain. Usually the symptoms are nothing more than the result of a meal that "didn't agree with you" and they're gone as quickly as they came.
But for millions of Americans, more persistent conditions in the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract cause daily discomfort and even fever and weight loss in more serious cases. "Conditions like diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease affect people of all ages. And there are several new developments for these conditions that are worth noting," explains Uniontown Gastroenterologist Dr. Frederick Ruthardt.
"For instance, because these problems all occur in the lower GI tract and cause similar symptoms, it can be difficult for a doctor to distinguish between them," he says. "We now have a new blood test that tells us exactly which disease we're dealing with, so we can treat each one more effectively." Dr. Ruthardt goes on to explain that most lower GI tract diseases can be effectively managed with medication. "There's a new and exciting drug that we're using to treat Crohn's Disease, a condition that causes inflammation in the large intestine and the lower part of the small intestine," he notes.
But in the rare instances when the condition is serious enough to require surgery, Dr. Ruthardt explains that there are a variety of effective surgical options.
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