What are Gastrointestinal disorders?
Your digestive system is an intricate structure that can be disrupted by diet, diseases, and/or emotional stress. Any disease or disorder involving the digestive tract, also known as the gastrointestinal tract, is known as a gastrointestinal disorder. Therefore, any problem with your stomach, esophagus, small intestine, large intestine, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, and rectum, requires a gastro specialist. Typically, such digestive complications include constipation, hemorrhoids, fissures, irritable bowel syndrome, perineal abscesses, anal fistulas, colitis, etc.
Causes of gastrointestinal disorders
Gastrointestinal disorders are caused by several reasons such as viral or bacterial infection, lactase deficiency, inflammation, poor blood circulation to the intestine or other digestive organs, difficulty in digesting certain types of foods, gallstones, muscle dysfunction, etc. However, most of these disorders can be prevented or at least minimized by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, submitting to regular cancer screenings, or practicing good bowel habits.
Types of gastrointestinal disorders
There are several types of gastrointestinal disorders, ranging from mild to severe, that can hamper your health. Such disorders can be diagnosed through specific medical procedures such as colonoscopy, capsule endoscopy, upper GI endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound, etc. Some of the commonly occurring gastrointestinal disorders are:
- Stomach problems such as gastric ulcers, gastritis, and stomach cancer.
- Gallstone disease, cholangitis, and cholecystitis.
- Esophagus problems such as esophagitis, stricture, and achalasia.
- Rectal disorders such as hemorrhoids, fissures, rectal prolapse, and proctitis.
- Issues with the pancreas such as pancreatic pseudocyst and pancreatitis.
- Liver problems such as cirrhosis, hepatitis C or hepatitis B, autoimmune, liver failure, alcoholic hepatitis, and simple liver cyst.
- GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease), peptic ulcer, and hiatal hernia.
- Problem with the intestines such as celiac disease, intestinal infections, Crohn disease, polyps and cancer, ulcerative colitis, malabsorption, diverticulitis, intestinal ischemia, and short bowel syndrome.
