Nearly 150,000 adults living in the United States get diagnosed with colorectal cancer every year. Even more people get diagnosed with other colon and intestinal diseases.
Gastrointestinal problems are common, so you shouldn't feel embarrassed if you're experiencing signs and symptoms. The best things that you can do is educate yourself and order colon blood tests. Both of these steps will help you learn more about your body and how to care for it.
Keep reading to learn more about colon and intestinal diseases and lab tests for them.
What Are the Colon and Intestinal Diseases?
Colon and intestinal diseases are a collection of ailments that affect the colon, which is a part of your digestive system. The colon is a long, hollow tube at the end of the digestive tract that helps your body make and store stool before its removal from your system.
There are many types of colon and intestinal disorders:
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Irritable bowel disease (ulcerative colitis or Chron's disease)
- Colorectal cancer
- Colonic polyps
- Diverticulitis
- Celiac disease
The signs, symptoms, and treatment for each one of the conditions vary.
No matter the condition, prompt care is important. The sooner that a patient is diagnosed, the sooner they can get treatment.
Risk Factors for Colon and Intestinal Diseases
Most colon and intestinal diseases are genetic, which means you're at greater risk if a close relative has a colon disease. With family history, there are a few other risk factors to take into consideration:
- Age - problems with the colon become more prominent with age due to alteration of the colon over time
- Race or ethnicity - colon and intestinal diseases are more common in Caucasian individuals
- Cigarette smoking - smoke can harm your digestive tract and make developing cancer more likely
- NSAID consumption - taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can increase your risk for developing colon-related disorders
You can't control your genetics, but you can take care of your gut health to the best of your ability. By eating right and avoiding things like cigarette smoke and NSAIDs, you can lessen the chance that you'll develop colon and intestinal diseases.
Causes of Colon and Intestinal Diseases
Most diseases of the colon occur with an imbalance of the bacteria that live in the digestive tract. Too much harmful bacteria can cause problems with your large intestine, which can lead to disorders and diseases.
Sometimes, this bacteria can cause polyps to form. Other times, an overactive immune system response will occur. The disease process will depend on the kind of intestinal disease that is forming.
By eating a balanced diet, you can mitigate some of these problems. However, the composition of your gut comes mainly from a genetic predisposition. Therefore, some patients can only control an existing disease rather than prevent the disease altogether.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Colon and Intestinal Diseases?
The best way to determine whether there's a problem with your digestive system is to note how the system is working, which means that you need to know your abdomen and your stool very well.
You should have an idea of what it feels like when you're hungry, full, or bloated. Likewise, you should know when you're having abnormal abdominal pain. When it comes to your stool, you should note the color and consistency so that you can determine when there's a change in your stool.
Here are the signs and symptoms of colon and intestinal diseases that you should look out for:
- A change in your bowel habits
- Blood on or in your stool
- Abdominal pain
- Excessive gas
- Abnormally shaped stool
- Stool of an abnormal color
- Inability to completely void stool
- Fatigue
- Unintended/Unexplained weight loss
- Anemia
If you're experiencing any of these signs or symptoms, you need to see your healthcare provider. They can order the right tests and help you determine your diagnosis and subsequent course of treatment.
The earlier you get a diagnosis, the better.
How Are Colon and Intestinal Diseases Diagnosed?
Getting a diagnosis related to the digestive system can be a long process. It's difficult for physicians to look inside the body, especially considering that most signs and symptoms occur during or after food consumption.
To gather as much information as possible, physicians will order several tests and perform a few procedures:
- Colon lab tests to look for anemia or infection
- Stool studies to look for blood or organisms
- Upper endoscopy
- Colonoscopy
- Flexible sigmoidoscopy
- Capsule endoscopy
- Balloon-assisted enteroscopy
- Abdominal x-ray
- CT scan of the abdomen
- MRI of the pelvis
With all of this information, the healthcare provider can make an accurate diagnosis and an appropriate treatment plan.
The Lab Tests to Screen, Diagnose, and Monitor Colon and Intestinal Diseases
The colon tests associated with the diagnosis of intestinal diseases are extensive. Healthcare providers need to gather as much information as possible. At Ulta Lab Tests, we offer four panels that look for biomarkers of digestive health:
Each one of these panels looks for relevant biomarkers. Depending on the lab panel you choose, more specific tests will be done to look at your digestive health.
No matter the panel you decide on, you're going to gain valuable information about your health.
Get Your Colon Blood Tests at Ulta Lab Tests
If you believe you may have a colon or intestinal disease, you need to get colon blood tests. The sooner your healthcare provider can diagnose these conditions, the better your prognosis will be.
Luckily, Ulta Lab Tests offers the colon lab tests that you need. Ulta Lab Tests offers highly accurate and reliable tests so that you can make informed decisions about your health.
Here are some of the benefits that you can get if you order from Ulta Lab Tests:
- You'll get secure and confidential results
- You don't need health insurance
- You don't need a physician's referral
- You'll get affordable pricing
- We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee
Order your colon blood tests today, and we'll provide your results to you securely and confidentially online in 24 to 48 hours for most tests.
Take control of your health with Ulta Lab Tests today!
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