Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that can be both painful and debilitating. It causes inflammation of your digestive tract, which can then lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, and malnutrition. Serious complications…
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects as many as 3 million Americans, most of whom are diagnosed before age 35. Not to be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), IBD includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, both of which are chronic,…
Due to the success of colon cancer awareness campaigns in recent years, most people know that routine colonoscopy screenings can detect early signs of colon cancer. But you may not know about a similar procedure called a flexible sigmoidoscopy. What…
A hernia is what happens when muscle strain or weakness causes the muscle to separate, allowing soft tissue to push through the opening. They typically happen in the abdomen (belly) or groin, and they can be very painful. The most…
If your esophagus (the muscular tube between the mouth and the stomach) is fully functional, you’ve probably never thought about how usefulness it is. When our bodies are working properly, we have a tendency to take them for granted. The…
If you’ve ever had a stomach ulcer, you know they’re not fun. If you haven’t had an ulcer, you may think that they’re caused by eating too many spicy foods or working in a stressful career. The reality is that…
We’ve all experienced belly pain at some time in our lives, usually because of a temporary issue like constipation or fecal incontinence, or that time you ate bad clams and got food poisoning. Occasionally, however, the pain is caused by…
Most people have heard of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and skin cancer, but not as much is known about esophageal cancer. It is the 6th most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide, however, and being aware of the symptoms and…
What is colon cancer? Colon cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the large intestine, or colon, which is the final part of the digestive tract. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosis in America among…
Over the last 10 or 15 years, the word “gluten” has found its way into the vocabulary of our society. Gluten is a protein found in grains such as wheat, rye, and barley. Through extensive media coverage, it is now…
