Diverticulitis can be acute or chronic. With the acute form, you may have one or more severe attacks of infection and inflammation. In chronic diverticulitis, inflammation and infection may go down but never clear up completely.
As the name implies, chronic diverticulitis is a variant of diverticulitis in which symptoms can persist for 6 months to 1 year or longer [8].
In about 95 out of 100 people, uncomplicated diverticulitis goes away on its own within a week. In about 5 out of 100 people, the symptoms stay and treatment is needed. Surgery is only rarely necessary.
Diverticulosis: You can have it for years and never know — if you take care of yourself. About one or two percent of patients under 30 experience diverticulosis while people age 60 and older have some degree of the condition.
If you don't treat it, diverticulitis can lead to serious complications that require surgery: Abscesses, collections of pus from the infection, may form around the infected diverticula. If these go through the intestinal wall, you could get peritonitis. This infection can be fatal.
However, you should seek immediate medical attention if your symptoms are not going away or you are feeling worse, such as having increasing pain, fever, bloody stools, or abdominal bloating with vomiting. Treatment depends on whether you have uncomplicated or complicated diverticulitis.
Mild cases of diverticulitis are usually treated with antibiotics and a low-fiber diet, or treatment may start with a period of rest where you eat nothing by mouth, then start with clear liquids and then move to a low-fiber diet until your condition improves. More-severe cases typically require hospitalization.
In most cases, diverticulitis is not considered to be a life-threatening or life-limiting condition. However, symptoms of diverticulitis, such as abdominal pain, constipation and/or diarrhea, and lower-digestive-tract bleeding, can cause complications that can raise the risk of mortality.
Symptoms of diverticulitis are more severe and often start suddenly, but they may become worse over a few days. They include: Tenderness, usually in the left lower part of the abdomen.
Your colon is shortened and therefore stool may pass at a faster rate. Give it time, approximately 6-8 weeks, and your colon should start to function more normally.
Most of the time, diverticulitis does not require surgery. If mild, the condition can sometimes be treated with medication and dietary changes.
Once diverticula form, they do not disappear by themselves. Fortunately, most patients with diverticulosis do not have symptoms, and therefore do not need treatment.
A CT scan, which can identify inflamed or infected pouches and confirm a diagnosis of diverticulitis. CT can also indicate the severity of diverticulitis and guide treatment.
Actually, no specific foods are known to trigger diverticulitis attacks. And no special diet has been proved to prevent attacks. In the past, people with small pouches (diverticula) in the lining of the colon were told to avoid nuts, seeds and popcorn.
When stress is added to the overall picture, the problem of diverticulitis becomes an issue. This is due to the body impulses that will immediately address stressful situations by shifting the oxygen and blood from the digestive tract to the brain and muscles.
According to the American Gastrointestinal Association (AGA) guidelines, it is recommended to perform a colonoscopy six to eight weeks after resolution of acute diverticulitis [1].
Diverticulitis: Colonoscopy is relatively contraindicated in acute diverticulitis due to the risk of perforation. However, following an episode of diverticulitis, colono-scopy is recommended to assess for associated colorectal neoplasia.
Colonoscopy. A colonoscopy is a procedure that allows the gastroenterologist to examine the lining of the colon and rectum wall for any problems, including diverticula.
Most of the time, diverticulitis is uncomplicated, which means that inflammation and possible infection are the extents of the problem. It heals easily with the right treatment.
Diet and lifestyle
Not eating enough fibre is thought to be linked to developing diverticular disease and diverticulitis. Fibre helps to make your stools softer and larger so they put less pressure on the walls of your intestines. Some other things that seem to increase your risk include: smoking.