Diverticulitis is a condition in which diverticuli in the colon rupture. The rupture results in infection in the tissues which surround the colon. The colon is the large intestine and is a long tube like striation that stores and then eliminates waste material. As a person gets older, pressure within the colon causes bulging pockets of tissue, or sacs, that push out from the colon walls.

A small bulging sac pushing outward from the colon wall is called a diverticulum. More than one bulging sac is referred to as diverticula. Diverticula can occur throughout the colon, but most are common near the end of the left colon. This is referred to as the sigmoid colon. The condition of having these diverticula in the colon is called diverticulosis.

Symptoms

The easiest way to explain what diverticulitis is would be to say that it is a digestive disease that occurs in the large intestine and sometimes other parts of the body. It develops from diverticulosis, which is when pouches, called diverticula are formed on the outside of the colon. When a diverticula becomes inflamed or infected the result is called diverticulitis.

Cause

It is not altogether certain what causes the diverticula to become inflamed or infected, but some believe that high colonic pressure is involved in the formation of the diverticula. It is also a general consensus in the medical community that individuals who consume a diet that is low in roughage are predisposed to diverticular disease. Medical experts believe that some kind of blockage of the diverticula, like a piece of feces or food particles, leads to the diverticula becoming inflammed and infected.

Symptoms

In simplest terms, listeriosis is an infection with the bacteria known as listeria monocytogenes. It is dangerous to those most commonly infected: infants and elderly patients. This bacterium has become known as contributing to miscarriage, stillbirth, meningitis, pneumonia, and bodily sepsis. Preventing digestive system disorders brought on by listeriosis – generally speaking they include diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating, and in some cases long lasting nausea without vomiting – is not as hard as the insidious nature of the bacterium might suggest.

Avoiding Listeriosis

First and foremost of course is the avoidance of ingesting affected food sources. Dairy products are the highest risk source, and the ingestion of un-pasteurized milk is one of the most dangerous food choices a consumer might make. Raw veggies and fruits are also culprits and copious washing with dish detergent is always recommended.

There are many GI motility disorders that can have an affect on the esophagus or the colon (large intestine) or the rectum. Each part of the digestive system (GI tract) has a special function to perform in the process of digestion. Each function has a type of motility and sensation that is associated with its function. When either the motility or the sensation is not appropriate, the function can be affected and symptoms occur.

Gastrointestinal motility is the movements that are made within the digestive system, as the contents of digestion are processed from one organ to the other along the digestive tract. Symptoms of a disorder may be discovered as motility problems present themselves in the course of function and normal strength becomes out of alignment with what is normal.

Most of us are embarrassed to be caught passing gas through our mouth or through our rectum. There can be some pretty embarrassing moments when we unknowing "let one go", like in church during prayers, or while taking a test in the classroom, or during a really important business meeting, or worse yet, while making a business presentation in front of your superiors. It is at these times that we most want to find out how to decrease or eliminate the embarrassment of passing gas. It is not all that comforting to know that we all do it; we only want to know how we can do it less often.