What is Diverticulitis,and how is it treated??

Question

Treated as in what foods CAN you eat.

Answer 1

I understand that in natural healing they use a lot of blueberries for it. Garlic is also considered a natural antibiotic, I would up my consumption of garlic during a flare of it. But, the key issue with diverticulitis is the food that you've been eating.It comes from yrs of eating poorly and being constipated. To insure that it doesn't get any worse and require surgery, you need to change your diet. You need to include lots of water and at least 35 gm of fiber every day.Either get your fiber through food or supplement it with a product like Metamucil or others. But stay away from seeds,nuts, and corn. They don't digest easily and because of their size and shape get caught in the pockets in your colon, where they turn into infection(pus) then you start anothe nasty cycle of pain.As far as foods that you can eat,just read the labels and aim for increasing your fiber.There are some cereal choices and bread choices that in 1 serving will give you 25-40% of the fiber you need for the day. But drink lot's of water, fiber draws water from your system to your colon and that's part of what makes it work.

Answer 2

Diverticulitis is a common disease of the bowel, in particular the large intestine. Diverticulitis develops from diverticulosis, which involves the formation of pouches (diverticula) on the outside of the colon. Diverticulitis results if one of these diverticula becomes inflamed.
An initial episode of acute diverticulitis is usually treated with conservative medical management, including bowel rest (ie, nothing by mouth), IV fluid resuscitation, and broad-spectrum antibiotics which cover anaerobic bacteria and gram-negative rods. However, recurring acute attacks or complications, such as peritonitis, abscess, or fistula may require surgery, either immediately or on an elective basis.

Upon discharge patients may be placed on a low residue diet. This low-fiber diet gives the colon adequate time to heal without needing to be overworked. Later, patients are placed on a high-fiber diet. There is some evidence this lowers the recurrence rate.

In some cases surgery may be required to remove the area of the colon with the diverticuli. Patients suffering their first attack of diverticulitis are typically not encouraged to undergo the surgery, unless the case is severe. Patients suffering repeated episodes may benefit from the surgery. In such cases the risks of complications from the diverticulitis outweigh the risks of complications from surgery.