Health

What Is Diverticulitis? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

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If you are generally in good health and the inflammation or infection you are experiencing is not severe, your doctor will likely proceed with nonsurgical, at-home treatments for diverticulitis.

Diet Options

For mild cases, doctors prescribe a light or low-residue diet. Sometimes a clear liquid diet for a few days is required to treat diverticulitis. This allows your digestive tract to rest and begin healing and will also keep you hydrated.

Foods and drinks to consume might include:

  • Clear broths
  • Clear soups
  • Juices without pulp, such as apple juice
  • Plain gelatin
  • Ice chips
  • Water
  • Tea without milk

As you begin to feel better, you can start reintroducing foods into your diet, including:

  • Canned or cooked fruit and vegetables with no skin or seeds
  • Eggs, fish, and poultry
  • White bread
  • Low-fiber cereal
  • Milk, yogurt, and cheese
  • White rice, pasta, and noodles

Medication Options

In the past, oral antibiotics were considered the first line of therapy for uncomplicated diverticulitis. Recent guidance from the American College of Physicians states that low-risk cases can be treated without antibiotics.

For most patients, bowel rest and a liquid diet should be enough to manage uncomplicated diverticulitis.

The guidance states that doctors may prescribe antibiotics for some patients, including those who are immunocompromised or medically frail.

These broad-spectrum antibiotics are commonly used:

OTC pain relievers used to treat diverticulitis include acetaminophen (Tylenol). Narcotics are not recommended because they can increase pressure in the colon.

Surgery Options

If you have two or more repeated episodes of diverticulitis, you may need surgery.

In more complicated cases of diverticulitis — an abscess or gross peritonitis (a leakage or hole in the intestines) you may need surgery to remove the diseased part of your colon. Primary bowel resection, which reconnects the healthy sections of your colon after removing the diseased part, is one option. A bowel resection with colostomy is another option.

Alternative and Complementary Therapies

There is very little evidence that alternative therapies and complementary supplements are useful treatments for diverticulitis. Glutamine (an amino acid that aids in digestion), fish oil (high in omega-3 fatty acids), flaxseed, and probiotics (which help maintain intestinal health) have all been studied as treatment options, but the results have been inconclusive.

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