Diverticulitis is more serious because infection can lead to other problems. Diverticulosis leads to diverticulitis in about 1 out of 5 to 1 out of 7 cases. Researchers think a diet low in fiber is to blame for a high incidence of diverticulosis.
While diverticulosis usually doesn't lead to any discomfort, diverticulitis can be quite painful. Common symptoms include significant abdominal pain, as well as fever, constipation or diarrhea, nausea, and fatigue. A mild case of diverticulitis may go away on its own without any treatment.
Mild diverticulitis can usually be treated at home with antibiotics prescribed by your GP. More serious cases may need hospital treatment to prevent and treat complications. Surgery to remove the affected section of the intestine is sometimes recommended if there have been serious complications, although this is rare.
Diverticulosis may not have any symptoms, while diverticulitis could cause pain and blood in the stool. The causes of both are unclear. Treatment often isn't needed for diverticulosis, although a diet higher in fiber is recommended to prevent constipation. Diverticulitis may require treatment with antibiotics.
Having diverticulosis alone isn't necessarily a problem. Most people never experience any symptoms or complications from it. It can become serious under rare circumstances. For example, if you develop an infection and it goes untreated for too long, it can lead to complications like sepsis.
For most people, diverticulitis won't affect their life span. Many people don't even know they have diverticular disease. Only a small percentage will have symptoms, and an even smaller number will have complications.
Pay attention to symptoms and follow a healthy lifestyle.
Stay away from nuts and seeds, and don't eat popcorn — that's what doctors said years ago if you had diverticulosis, a condition marked by tiny pouches (diverticula) that develop in the lining of the colon.
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.
Diverticulosis is a lifelong condition that can be managed, primarily with adjustments in diet. Symptoms of diverticulitis or bleeding from diverticulosis may subside within a few days after treatment, may continue, or may get worse in the case of severe illness or complications.
Living with diverticular disease
If you have diverticulosis, you may sometimes get flare-ups of diverticulitis. To prevent these, your doctor may suggest you eat more fiber, drink plenty of fluids, and exercise regularly. This should help prevent the pouches from becoming infected or inflamed.
Stool may become hard, loose, thin, or pellet-shaped. Stool may contain blood and/or mucus. Diarrhea and/or constipation can occur. Bowel movements may also be irregular.
In chronic diverticulitis, inflammation and infection may go down but never clear up completely. Over time, the inflammation can lead to a bowel obstruction, which may cause constipation, thin stools, diarrhea, bloating, and belly pain.
This occurs when diverticula (pouches) become inflamed and infected causing significant lower abdominal pain. It is thought an infection develops when a hard piece of stool or undigested food gets trapped in one of the pouches.
There are no specific foods you need to avoid. You do not need to avoid any foods such as nuts, seeds, corn, popcorn or tomatoes if you have diverticular disease. These foods do not make diverticular disease worse. These foods may even help prevent it because they are high fibre choices.
In general, it's best to avoid alcohol during a flare-up of diverticulitis. During times of non-flares if you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
BRAT is an acronym for the foods traditionally “allowed” on this diet- Bananas, Rice, Apples, and Toast. The BRAT Diet was developed to include foods that are bland enough to not further disrupt a Diverticulitis flare or exacerbate present symptoms.
However, research suggests that these foods are not harmful for people with diverticulosis. The types of foods that worsen symptoms are personal to you. A food diary can help identify foods that are causing problems. The doctor also may suggest taking a fiber product, such as Citrucel® or Metamucil®, once a day.
Take fiber supplements — You can take fiber supplements like Metamucil, Citrucel or Benefiber to bulk up your stool. Seeds and nuts — In the past we advised diverticulitis patients to avoid whole pieces of fiber, like seeds, corn and nuts.
The recent literature does not identify diverticular disease as a long-term risk factor for colorectal cancer. However, the risk of colorectal cancer is increased in the short-term period after hospitalization related to diverticular disease.
But in fewer than 5% of patients with diverticulosis, the diverticula become inflamed or infected, causing diverticulitis – a condition that does typically cause symptoms such as: Pain in the lower left abdomen.
Primary bowel resection.
The surgeon removes diseased segments of your intestine and then reconnects the healthy segments (anastomosis). This allows you to have normal bowel movements. Depending on the amount of inflammation, you may have open surgery or a minimally invasive (laparoscopic) procedure.