Your intestine is the long tube in your digestive system that digests food and absorbs nutrients. You have a large intestine and a small intestine. Your large intestine (colon) connects your small intestine with your rectum (the pouch at the end of your large intestine where stool is stored until you pass it). Small sacs or pouches (diverticula) can develop in your large intestine, and this is called diverticulosis Diverticulosis Your intestine is the long tube in your digestive system that digests food and absorbs nutrients. You have a small intestine and a large intestine. Your large intestine (colon) connects your... read more . They're probably caused by high pressure in the intestine.
What is diverticulitis?
Diverticulitis is a complication of diverticulosis. Stool and bacteria get trapped in diverticula, small pouches or sacs that form in the lining of your intestine. The bacteria cause an infection.
Symptoms include pain in the lower left part of your belly, tenderness, and fever
Doctors find diverticulitis with a CT scan
Treatment includes rest, a liquid diet, and antibiotics
If you have severe symptoms, you may need a hospital stay and sometimes surgery
Large Intestine with Diverticula
Diverticula are balloon-like sacs that can develop in the large intestine.  |
What causes diverticulitis?
Diverticulitis happens in people who have diverticulosis Diverticulosis Your intestine is the long tube in your digestive system that digests food and absorbs nutrients. You have a small intestine and a large intestine. Your large intestine (colon) connects your... read more , a condition in which sacs or pouches form in your large intestine.
Sometimes, stool and bacteria get into one of the sacs (diverticula), causing inflammation and infection.
Diverticulitis is usually in the lowermost part of your large intestine
Diverticulitis tends to be more serious in older people and in people taking corticosteroids
If you have diverticulosis, you have a higher risk of getting diverticulitis if you:
Are older
Are overweight
Don't exercise
Smoke
Eat a high-fat, low-fiber diet
Take certain medicines, such as corticosteroids, opioid pain medicines, and anti-inflammatory medicines
What are the symptoms of diverticulitis?
Diverticulitis causes:
Pain in the lower left part of your belly
Tenderness
Fever
Diverticulitis can cause problems such as:
Abscess (a collection of pus)
Infections in nearby organs or in the belly space between organs (peritonitis)
Serious infection in your blood causing other organs not to work right (sepsis Sepsis Sepsis is when germs (bacteria) get into your bloodstream and trigger a serious body-wide reaction. When sepsis is severe, one or more of your organs may shut down. For example, your kidneys... read more )
Intestinal blockage from scarring in the intestine
Fistula (an abnormal connection between two organs that shouldn’t connect, such as the intestine and the bladder)
Some Complications of Diverticulitis
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How can doctors tell if I have diverticulitis?
Doctors usually do tests such as:
Blood tests to check for infection and other reasons for belly pain
How do doctors treat diverticulitis?
You can treat mild diverticulitis at home with:
Rest
A special diet—eat only liquids for a few days, such as broth, juice, or water, and then slowly add in soft foods, such as eggs, cooked vegetables, or yogurt
Pain medicine
Sometimes, antibiotics
If you have more serious symptoms, you may need to stay in the hospital for treatment. Your treatment may involve:
Fluids and antibiotics in your vein
Pain medicine
Bed rest
No food until your symptoms stop
Sometimes, putting a needle through the skin to drain an infection with a pocket of pus (abscess)
You may need emergency surgery if:
Your symptoms don’t improve or get worse
You have increasing pain, tenderness, and fever
Your intestine is blocked
Your intestine bursts, causing an infection in the lining of your belly (peritonitis)
You have an abscess that needs to be drained
Your doctor removes the ruptured (burst) part of your intestine. Then your doctor will either reconnect your intestine or give you a temporary colostomy. A colostomy is a surgical opening in your belly connected to one end of your intestine. Stool exits into the colostomy bag while your intestine heals.
A fistula that forms can also be treated with surgery.
One to 3 months after you're better, doctors usually do a colonoscopy Endoscopy Endoscope is an instrument doctors use to look inside your body. Endoscopes can also be used to do tests and treat diseases. Endoscopes are tubes that have a light and a small video camera on... read more (a test in which a doctor inserts a thin, lighted tube with a small camera through your rectum to look at your large intestine) to rule out colon cancer as an underlying cause of your initial symptoms.
Doctors will also tell you to:
Eat more fiber
Exercise
Lose weight if you're overweight
Not smoke
It's important to call your doctor if symptoms of diverticulitis happen again.
