Bloom Hospital is one of the premium quality hospitals. It provides complete care for both mother and the newborns. At an early stage of life, there often occur the chances of injury, disorders, and medical conditions. Such situations often make the pediatric period a difficult one. However, herein we have provided you with a few of the unknown facts. These facts can help you combat the symptoms of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) concerns the swelling and inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. There are two major types of IBD. These are Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Both of these diseases are hard to distinguish. They somewhere possess the same type of symptoms. These conditions persist life-long. The only thing that can prevent such complications is to fight for the symptoms. Although both of these conditions bear the same type of symptoms and therapies, they are still not similar.

• Crohn’s disease causes inflammation, swelling, and irritation in the lining of the intestine. It happens in the lower part of the small intestine, called the ileum. The condition happens with both males and females equally. The symptoms of Crohn’s disease start appearing in the early 20s especially in the case of genetic problems.
• Ulcerative colitis affects the inner lining of the large intestine, bowel, and rectum. In this condition, the colon becomes ulcerated which may also cause bleeding. It is often accompanied by diarrhea. It can affect all age groups but the symptoms become more persistent in the early 15’s till the 30s.

How Common Is IBD?

More than three million people face the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease. Many times, children are diagnosed with such symptoms at the age of adolescence. However, IBD can be diagnosed at any age. It affects boys, girls, and males or females equally.

The risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease is around 30 percent if you have some family history. The disease is assumed to affect all people coming from different backgrounds.

What Causes IBD?

The major cause of IBD is exposure to an environment that is full of “busy people” and pollution. The lifestyle change has affected it adversely. The condition generally persists in those who are already at risk of IBD based on their genes. Nothing can be done that can help you prevent the prevailing signs in you or your child. However, the following are the points that you can take care of:

• Genetics (inherited genes): Sometimes, some diseases or disorders occur due to gene problems. This means they are already present in the genes and may likely affect the body at a certain age.
• Environment: Sometimes the things you are exposed to often create difficulty. Today’s environment favors the increasing possibility of disease. It can be medication, food, toxication, infections, or other toxins. It has been researched that taking regular medications and antibiotics can increase the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease.
• Highly reactive immune system: If you are having a weak immune system, there can be chances of developing IBD. Sometimes, there can be chances of a bad immune system where it attacks the good bacteria thinking of it as foreign material. This creates inflammation and irritation in the gastrointestinal tract.
• Imbalance: Sometimes, there can be an imbalance of good and bad bacteria.

How Is IBD Treated?

Several treatment goals can help to prevent inflammatory bowel disease. These are:

• Helping the patient to maintain remission, i.e., with little or no symptoms of IBD.
• Healing the intestine lining to prevent bowel damage
• Helping to restore the normal growth process
• Helping to restore the quality of life

To reach these goals, you may require to think of different factors including medications, diet, and physical or emotional well-being. In most cases, medication is not the only thing that is required. Medication may help you prevent swelling and irritation while emotional support will lead you towards the quality of life. This is because inflammation is sure to take place with IBD. This inflammation can further affect the digestive system, hindering the normal procedure. This may further cause poor weight gain, poor nutrition, and poor health.

What Are Flares and how can they be managed?

There can occur the chances that a child may go without any symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease. But, they can appear at any stage. This is called a flare. It can happen when you are working hard to maintain your diet and weight. Your response towards these flares influences the severity of symptoms. This further decides how long these flares persist. Following is the guideline to help you with these flares:

• Call your child’s doctor if you see any persistent symptoms of the disease.
• Keep your child hydrated. Maintain an active lifestyle. The condition often comes with the complications of diarrhea. Try to work on your schedule.
• Maintain a good diet. Try to go for easily digestible food that may help you prevent these flares.
• Be careful if you are having pain along with medications. If your child is experiencing joint pain, try to go for heat therapy, massage, and anti-inflammatory medications.
• If you are facing any problem with the ulcer, it must have gone within 10-14 days. In such a case, try to keep yourself clean. Consult the doctor if needed.
• Practice good hygiene habits. Brush your teeth regularly. It will prevent ulcers in the mouth.

Bloom Hospital provides ethical and passionate medical services. It is a multi-specialty hospital that undertakes pediatric care, neonatology care, and other emergencies. The Bloom Hospital embraces healthcare services with knowledgeable and well-trained staff. You can consult the department of pediatric care anytime you want. The hospital provides online consultation services that are open 24 hours a day.