People experience digestive problems at some point in their lives. These problems are common, whether it is a reaction of the food you eat for dinner or gastrointestinal disease that requires treatment and a lifestyle change. You need to know the common problems affecting your digestion system and how to curb them.

1. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

Heartburn happens to people once in a while. However, if you experience heartburn regularly, you should consider visiting your doctor to test you for GERD. Your doctor can diagnose GERD by listening to the symptoms alone. However, if the issue has been persistent, your doctor might have to carry out tests to evaluate the illness if it has damaged the esophagus. Uncontrolled GERD erodes your esophagus, which causes bleeding. You can treat this digestive disease by changing your lifestyle, surgery, or prescription medication. Visit Digestive Center and learn more from their online resources.

2. Diverticulitis

Studies reveal that three in five locals who are over 70 years old have diverticula in their intestinal tract walls. 20 percent experience diverticulitis, which is an inflammation of a pouch, abscess, or tear. Doctors advise diverticula patients to avoid eating foods that have high fiber contents because they trigger the illness. Diverticulitis causes fever, intense abdominal tenderness, nausea, and vomiting. The illness is treated through a surgical process.

3. Gallstones

The gall stores and secretes bile used for digestion. Gallstones are hard deposits that accumulate in your gallbladder. Studies reveal that over 25 million people locally have gallstones. Gallstones form when the gallbladder does not empty as required, when you have waste in your bile, or when there is a lot of cholesterol in your body. The gallstones block ducts that lead to the intestines from the gallbladder, which causes a sharp pain in the right side of the abdomen. You can treat gallstones through medications that dissolve them or through surgery.

4. Celiac disease

Unfortunately, 83 percent of people who have celiac disease are not even aware that they have the disease. Also, a large percentage of patients get misdiagnosed; thus, they don’t get treatment early enough. The disease is caused by severe sensitivity to gluten, a protein found in barley, wheat, and rye. People who have celiac disease damage their villi when they eat gluten. Some signs of celiac disease in kids include bloating, abdominal pain, weight loss, vomiting, and constipation. Adults experience seizures, fatigue, anemia, loss of bones, and depression. The best treatment for celiac disease is avoiding gluten.

5. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

If your digestive tract is easily irritable and you have been experiencing stomach discomfort and pain for several months now, you might be suffering from IBS. The symptoms of IBS include dry stools and sometimes watery stools, constipation, and diarrhea. The treatment for ISB entails working on your diets, such as eating high-fiber, low-fat foods and getting rid of caffeine, alcohol, and artificial sweeteners.