Diverticular Disease

What is diverticular disease?

Diverticular disease is a common, benign condition that affects the large bowel. Most commonly, the left side of the bowel (sigmoid colon) is affected.

Small pockets of the innermost lining of the bowel can ?blow out? through the muscle of the bowel well. When these pockets form, it?s common to have no symptoms.

These pockets can get blocked. This blockage can then cause inflammation, or diverticulitis.

Diagnosis and Treatment

When diverticular disease develops, a range of experiences can result. For some people, they may experience mild abdominal pain. Others might develop a severe infection which might require emergency surgery.

Diverticular disease is typically caused by increased pressure in the bowel, due to a diet that?s low in soluble fibre and fluids. There is no evidence that nuts or seeds increase your risk of developing diverticular disease.

If you are experiencing this condition and would like to know more about the relevant procedures at Coast Colorectal, you can visit our page on resection. You can also learn more about reducing your risk of developing diverticular disease by reading about ?looking after your bowel? or our dietary advice.