What Are the Different Types of Bowel Diseases

QUESTION: Can you please help me and clear up something that is a bit
confusing. I need to know the difference between "ulcerative colitis" and
Crohn's disease? How does a doctor decide which one you have, and is that
really important?
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ANSWER: Both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are inflammatory diseases
of the bowel. Symptoms of the two diseases are similar--diarrhea, crampy
abdominal pain, fatigue and weight loss are common. The course of each
disease is different, as are the types of lesions each causes in the bowel.
You and your doctor will be managing your disease together, so it is
important that you learn as much about it as possible. Advances in x-ray
technique and instruments used to examine the colon have improved the accuracy
of diagnosis. Double-contrast barium examination utilizes contrast dye as
well as air to produce a clear picture of the wall of the colon, where the
lesions are found. This detailed image helps physicians determine what kind
of inflammatory bowel disease is troubling you. This test is relatively
inexpensive and is available in almost all diagnostic x-ray departments.
Flexible, high-powered instruments called endoscopes allow physicians to
directly observe the walls of the colon. Endoscopy is useful in detecting and
classifying inflammatory bowel disease. Colonoscopy (or endoscopy of the
colon) allows a physician to examine and take a biopsy from any part of the
entire colon. This technique, in the hands of a skillful and knowledgeable
physician, is perhaps the best method for accurate diagnosis of bowel
conditions. Once the diagnosis has been carefully determined, the correct
treatment may be selected that offers the greatest chance of helping the
patient.