The colon is part of the large intestine, which is part of the digestive tract. After food has been broken down in the stomach and absorbed in the small intestine, indigestible food matter is passed through the colon.
What Does Your Colon Do?
The colon is responsible for absorbing any leftover water, salts, and vitamins from undigested food matter and condensing it into faecal matter. The faecal matter is then passed from the sigmoid colon into the rectum, where it is held before being excreted as waste.
What Happens When Your Colon Is Inflamed?
For some people, when the colon starts experiencing inflammation, colon disorders will begin to occur.
The colon is prone to inflammation and inflammatory disorders that can be triggered by several factors which include:
Diet
Stress Levels
Lifestyle
Medication
In its healthy state, your colon will play the role of efficiently removing waste that your body no longer needs. However, when your colon is unhealthy, it can result in a variety of painful problems. The most common disorders of the colon are inflammatory bowel diseases such as:
Ulcerative Colitis – which causes pain in the final part of the large intestine that leads to the rectum.
Crohn’s disease – which typically causes pain around the belly button or on the lower right side of the abdomen.
Diverticulitis – which causes sigmoid colon pain.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (or IBS) – which most frequently causes pain in the lower left abdomen.
It is essential to identify which possible disorder that your colon is experiencing to eliminate potential signs of significant health risks such as cancer. As such, it is always recommended for you to seek medical advice should you be experiencing any symptoms of colon pain.
How Is An Inflamed Colon Treated?
Inflammatory bowel diseases are triggered or aggravated by a poor diet. In fact, up to 70 per cent of the risk for colorectal cancer can be prevented through lifestyle changes such as healthy eating.
The first step in treating colon pain is to make changes to your diet to see if you can reduce inflammation and find relief. Certain foods contribute more to inflammation, including red meat, fried foods, refined sugar and processed carbohydrates, alcohol and coffee.
Dr. Ganesh Ramalingam
Specialist in General Surgery
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