What is colon infection?

As we know that actor Irrfan Khan was suffering from colon infection and passed away in Mumbai on 29 April, 2020. What is colon infection, how is it caused, its treatment, symptoms and types? Let us find out!

Colon infection is a chronic digestive disease that refers to the inflammation of the inner lining of the colon. It is termed as colitis. There are various causes of colitis including infection, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ischemic colitis, allergic reactions, and microscopic colitis.

Colon Infection: Causes

There are various other conditions that can cause colon inflammation.

Infection

Colitis infection can be caused by viruses, bacteria, and parasites. A person suffering from infectious colitis will have diarrhoea, fever, and stool sample tests positive for enteropathogens including salmonella, campylobacter and Escherichia coli (E.coli). It depends upon the cause of the infection; it may be contracted from contaminated water, foodborne illness, or poor hygiene. Let us tell you that there is another type of infectious colitis named Pseudomembranous colitis. It is also known as antibiotic-associated colitis that occurs due to an overgrowth of the bacteria.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

It is a more common form of a colon infection. When inflammation occurs in the digestive tract, IBD is caused. Basically, it is a group of chronic diseases. Several conditions fall under IBD but some of them are as follows:

Crohn's disease: The infection occurs in the inner line of the digestive tract. This condition is known as Crohn's disease. In this infection, any part of the digestive tract can be infected. But commonly or most often it develops in the ileum, the last part of the small intestine.

Ulcerative colitis: When in the innermost lining of the colon and rectum a chronic inflammation and ulcers are caused. People suffering from this colitis have a high risk of colon cancer.

Ischemic colitis

It is caused due to the reduced blood flow in the portion of the colon. As a result oxygen which is required does not reach through cells in the digestive system. It is mainly caused due to narrowed or blocked arteries. Ischemic colitis can also affect any part of the colon but usually, a person feels pain in the left side of the abdomen. It can occur gradually or suddenly.

Allergic reactions

It is seen that this type of disease is more often common in babies than adults. It affects between 2 and 3 per cent of infants. It is basically an inflammation caused due to the proteins found in cow's milk. A baby suffering from this infection may occur irritable, gassy, and have blood or mucus in their stools. Anaemia and malnutrition can also be possible.

Let us tell you that Eosinophilic colitis is similar to allergic colitis. It usually resolves by early childhood. But in adolescents and adults, the condition is often chronic.

Microscopic colitis

As the name suggests, it can only be seen via a microscope. It occurs due to an increase in lymphocytes, the type of white blood cell present in the lining of the colon. There are two types of microscopic colitis:

- Lymphocytic colitis: It consists of a higher number of lymphocytes, tissues and due to this the lining of the colon becomes thick.

- Collagenous colitis: In this type of disease the layer of collagen under the lining of the colon becomes thicker than normal.

Drug-induced colitis

Due to some medications, the disease may occur due to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and causes inflamed colon in people.

Colon Infection: Symptoms

As discussed above there are various types of colitis but some of the general symptoms of colon infection are as follows:

- Fever

-Diarrhoea with or without blood

- Nausea

- Abdominal pain and cramping

- Weight loss

- Fatigue

- Bloating

- The urgency to have a bowel movement

- Intense pain

- Depression

- Aches and pains in the joints

- Loss of appetite

- Swelling of the colon tissue

- Tenderness in the abdomen

- Joint swelling

- Dehydration

- Eye inflammation

- Skin inflammation

Therefore, we can say that colon infection or colitis depending upon the type and severity can be of various types. With the duration of the disease colorectal cancer can also develop. A patient can be given treatment like anti-inflammatory medicines, antibiotics, supplements, surgery or operations. But if it has resulted in cancer then chemotherapy as a treatment and several other treatments are given to the patient. Immunity of the body lowers down. A person can catch an infection easily and sometimes becomes life-threatening.