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Article: Living with inflammatory bowel disease. (includes related article)
- Article from:
- FDA Consumer
- Article date:
- April 1, 1988
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1988 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the collective term for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, spells tough times for the 1 million to 2 million Americans wrestling lifelong with its fever, cramps, weight loss, and persistent diarrhea. Crohn's occurs mainly in the ileum (the lowest part of the small intestine) and colon (the large intestine). Ulcerative colitis is limited to the colon.
Symptoms lessen or disappear during remissions, but the disease lurks doggedly within until, unpredictably, its threat to health begins anew. The IBD specter can so hover over career, sex life, social plans, and even shopping that feelings of isolation and discouragement may ...