Nikki Sommer, a nurse with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5 FM for Medical Matters this morning.
Since March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month, let’s talk about the difference between diverticulosis and diverticulitis.
Sommer said, “So if you have a colonoscopy and you may not have polyps or you may have polyps, but you also might be told you have diverticulosis. So what does that mean? It means that you have the presence of these bulges in your colon. It’s a weakening in the wall that occurs over time. But what you need to understand is, if your diet isn’t high in fiber, if you spend time on the more constipated side, what that does is stool gets trapped in those bulges, and bacteria breeds and then infection could set in. A lot of times people get the two terms confused because they think, oh, my goodness, I’ve got diverticulosis. They’re thinking of diverticulitis, which is the infection. So -osis is kind of like the condition, and -itis is the infection that is caused by you having diverticulosis. It’s kind of like a weakening, when your stool can get trapped in there, and it can breed bacteria and constipation is a very big contributing factor for diverticulosis turning into diverticulitis, because that bacteria then becomes an infection.”
What about irritable bowel syndrome?
Sommer said, “If you have irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease and you have diverticulosis, sometimes you may have pain with a bowel movement, especially if you’re constipated, just because you already have inflammation in your colon. So it’s not necessarily that you have an infection. You just kind of might have pain while having a bowel movement, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an infection. An infection usually caused by severe abdominal pain, fever and so forth. But there’s one thing I do want to mention, and people have had this, is sometimes those diverticulosis pockets get irritated. It’s not an infection, but they bleed. So we’ve had several people, only 10% of people with diverticulosis will have that occur. So sometimes people with rectal bleeding, first we think of hemorrhoids, then we think, oh, my goodness, is it cancer? Then sometimes it’s just that they have several pockets of that diverticulosis and they’re irritated and they bleed.”
Diverticulitis is when it gets more serious.
Sommer said, “So what happens is, when you have diverticulosis, the best thing to do is to stay hydrated and not to be constipated. So over time, that bacteria can cause an infection, and that is what diverticulitis is. It is an infection in the colon, and if left untreated, it will not go away. Usually it progresses, and it can progress pretty rapidly. In some people it’ll start slow and then progress into a serious infection. But people have wanted to avoid the signs and the symptoms of the fever and the pain, and it could be associated with terrible diarrhea or terrible constipation, and people have had their colons rupture because they have ignored the signs and symptoms of diverticulitis of the infection. So it’s something that if your body is having any of those symptoms, you need to get them looked at right away, because it’s an inflammation and an infection, and it needs to be treated with antibiotics most of the time. If it’s caught early enough, you can take oral antibiotics, and you should be good, you will need to be on a clear liquid diet for a couple of days until the pain subsides. But for the most part, a clear liquid diet, some oral antibiotics quite very early on, will treat the diverticulitis. If it advances into a more serious case, you could require IV antibiotics and require hospitalization, which nobody wants to do.”
Aging, obesity, diets low in fiber and high in animal fat, smoking, lack of exercise, and some medications can make diverticulitis worse.
Sommer said, “Sometimes if you wait and there are people that, for whatever reason, the infection becomes so bad that it forms an abscess, and the abscess needs to be drained, or they need to go in and remove that effective part of the colon. But the worst thing that could happen is if there’s a tear in your colon, and then the pus and stool from the colon enter your abdominal cavity, that can be life threatening. So that is why you cannot ignore the signs and symptoms, especially if you have diverticulosis. If you have a colonoscopy and you’re told you have the ticks, then you need to be aware of staying on a high fiber diet, keeping hydrated, avoid super sedentary lifestyle, balanced diet. Yes, a lot of people love meat, but just make sure there’s fiber incorporated in that diet with it. Some people may need to take fiber as a supplementation to keep them regular, to prevent diverticulitis. I mean, there are people that I know have diverticulosis and never have diverticulitis. Then there are people that that end up having go through these bouts where they keep it keeps reoccurring, and they will do surgery and remove that part of the colon, and usually, when it’s done, in that situation, you don’t need a colostomy. Sometimes with an emergency, if your colon ruptures and there’s pus in the abdomen, you will need a temporary colostomy. That is where they take out the bad part of the colon, and they will pull a good part to the surface of your skin, and then that’s where you have that bag is attached, and that is where you will poop for the next three to six months, until you give your bowels some rest, and then you can be put back together, kind of like Humpty Dumpty.”
Can people have diverticulosis without knowing it?
Sommer said, “There are people that walk around that don’t even know they have it. Then, whenever they have their first colonoscopy, they’re told, oh, by the way, you have some diverticulosis. The sooner you have your screening colonoscopy, the age of 45 is the recommended, you will know. Now you may have your colonoscopy at 45, not have any polyps, and don’t need to come back for 10 years and in 10 years, you may be told you have diverticulosis, because it is more prevalent in 50% of people over 60, and then it increases with age. So even though we’re doing colonoscopies younger, you might not be told at 45 you have diverticulosis, but 10 years, when you go back for your next one, you may be told that you have diverticulosis.”
Key West Surgical Group has brought in a new laser.
Sommer said, “This one does hair restoration, which we’re very excited about. So we have one to take the hair away. Now we have one to help put it back.”
There’s also a laser to treat spider veins, pigmentation, acne, acne scarring, rosacea.
Sommer said, “We can treat all of that. The new laser will help treat pigment as well. It actually helps suppress the melanocytes that cause the pigmentation, so it works together with the other two. This laser will be able to use all year round, so you can get a glow even in the summer, and not have to worry about some exposure afterwards, which I’m really excited about. Consultations are free. You can come in, we can chat, we can go over all the different things we can do for your skin or tattoo, whatever it is you need to treat, we can come up with a plan.”
For more information, click here: https://www.keywestsurgicalgroup.com/