The term inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, refers to a type of disorder when the digestive tract is chronically inflamed. There are two types of IBD, including Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a condition when the large intestine and rectum are inflamed. It should be noted that there are five types of UC depending on its location, including acute severe UC, left-sided colitis, pancolitis, proctosigmoiditis, ulcerative proctitis (Kerr, 2020). The drugs for treating UC is similar to those for Crohn’s disease and will be discussed in the following paragraph. In severe cases, a surgery might be recommended as a treatment.
Crohn’s disease refers to the digestive tract’s inflammation, which can also occur in its deeper layers (“IBD,” n. d.). Crohn’s disease can affect not only the GR tract, but also joints, liver, skin, or eyes. As the condition might worsen after eating, people with Crohn’s disease often experience weight loss. Moreover, individuals with the diagnosis are at higher risk of colon cancer. The disease is treated with five types of medications, including antibiotics, steroids, immune modifiers, biologic therapy, and amino salicylates (Kerr, 2020). It should be mentioned that both diseases are characterized by diarrhea, bleeding, abdominal pain, and other symptoms.
Both diseases discussed above are similar in terms of symptoms, including weight loss, abdominal pain, bloody stools, loss of appetite, cramping, and other. UC and Crohn’s disease are both likely to be genetic illnesses and thus are chronic. As symptoms are very similar, it is complicated to make a diagnosis by concentrating only on them. However, the major difference is that Chron’s disease influences the entire GR tract, and ulcerative colitis is associated only with the colon.
Reference
IBD. (n. d.). Mayoclinic.org. 2020, Web.
Kerr, M. (2020). The difference between Crohn’s, UC, and IBD. Healthline. Web.