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" What is diverticulitis?  Diverticulitis is a condition where multiple weak points develop in the muscle of the colon, leading to small pouches (diverticula). These pouches look like bubbles attached to the outer layer of the colon.  These little pouches are harmless, but they form a small blind alley in which stool can become trapped.  When this happens, the pouch can become inflamed and result in pain, diarrhoea and sometimes blood in the stools.  The term diverticulitis is often misused for people with minor stomach symptoms because these pouches are found on investigation. But for most people, this is only a coincidental finding.  How common are these pouches?  Bowel X-rays in people over 50 show that more than half have these pouches and over 70 per cent of eighty year olds. But only one in four people experience inflammation of the bowel.  What are the symptoms of diverticulitis? Term watch   Diverticula \u2013 little sacs or pouches in the wall of the intestine. Diverticular disease \u2013 having the diverticula. Diverticulitis \u2013 inflamed pouches in the intestine.  Many people with lots of diverticula on the colon have little or no discomfort. This is known as diverticulosis or diverticular disease. But when a pouch becomes inflamed it can cause:   severe pain that comes and goes, usually in the lower left side of the abdomen mild episodes of constipation, although there may not be much change in bowel habits.  More severe inflammation causes:  diarrhoea  blood in the stools abdominal tenderness \u2013 the doctor may be able to feel the inflamed segment of bowel by pressing on your tummy fever.  What causes diverticulitis?  We don&amp;#039;t know what causes diverticulitis, but we know it&amp;#039;s rare in parts of the world such as Africa and Asia where a high-fibre diet is the norm.  It&amp;#039;s thought the fibre-poor diet of Western countries results in stools becoming excessively dried out and hard.  This leads to high pressures within the colon as it tries to push the hard stools along, weakening some parts of the colon muscle and causing them to bulge out as diverticula.  How is it diagnosed?  Diverticulitis can look like a lot of other bowel conditions, such as ulcerative colitis and bowel cancer \u2013 especially if there is bleeding from the back passage. This means symptoms need to be investigated thoroughly before a diagnosis can be made.  This used to be done by barium enema. This is a special X-ray taken after some fluid is run into the bowel. The patient then moves around to coat the lining of the colon with barium. The barium shows up the outline of the bowel. However, inaccuracies in diagnosis of diverticular disease were shown to occur in up to 30 per cent of patients investigated in this way.  Nowadays, inspection by a flexible endoscope (thin telescope) during a flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy is the most common method used in diagnosis and a CT scan with a contrast enema may also be used.  How is diverticulitis treated?  Once pouches develop in the colon, they are permanent and can&amp;#039;t be cured.  The vast majority of people with pouches don&amp;#039;t have serious problems and can manage symptoms with the sparing use of painkillers when needed.  It&amp;#039;s fair to say the best treatment is prevention. You can help avoid inflammation by:    eating a well-balanced diet that&amp;#039;s high in fibre and fruit to keep stools bulkier, making it easier for the colon to move them along avoiding constipation, for example by drinking plenty of fluids.  If you are constipated, use stool softeners, like lactulose (eg Regulose) instead of stimulant laxatives, and bulk forming laxatives, such as ispaghula husk or macrogol.  Antibiotics are used for severe episodes, with fluid replacement through a drip to help settle symptoms within a few days.  If there&amp;#039;s any doubt over the cause of a painful abdomen, it&amp;#039;s usual to seek a surgeon&amp;#039;s opinion. In some cases surgery may be necessary to remove a section of the bowel:   if bleeding is severe if the affected area has become narrow and is obstructing the bowel if the degree of inflammation is such that doctors can&amp;#039;t rule out cancerous changes.   It&amp;#039;s almost always possible to rejoin the colon following the operation. Other people also read: Diarrhoea: what are the symptoms? Ulcerative colitis: find out what the complications are. Bowel cancer: what are the causes?  Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): the bowel and IBS.  Based on a text by Dr Dan Rutherford, GP  Last updated 07.04.2015 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/conditions/digestive-health/a4929/diverticulitis/>