Pseudomembranous colitis is closely related to Crohn’s disease, in that it’s an infection of the colon. It’s primary symptom is diarrhea, and is often accompanied by fever and chronic abdominal pain. The symptoms of pseudomembranous colitis can range from mild to severe.

Those at increased risk of developing pseudomembranous colitis include diabetics and elderly people. In addition, anyone recently having undergone major surgery may well be more susceptible. Signs of pseudomembranous colitis include fatigue, lethargy, loss of appetite and a general feeling of being unwell. It’s common for sufferers to be anemic.

Pseudomembranous colitis very often comes from having been on a course of antibiotics. The antibiotics affect the normal bacteria in the bowel, essentially allowing growth of some of the more harmful bacteria such as clostridium difficile. In the case of clostridium difficile there is actually a toxin produced, and it’s this toxin that causes the diarrhea.

Diagnosis of pseudomembranous colitis is usually made by colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy checking for pseudomembranes in the colon or rectum. More often these days, stool testing for the presence of Clostridium difficile toxin is now the simpler and thus first approach.

Pseudomembranous colitis is usually treated with metronidazole. Vancomycin is sometimes used, but is more costly. This explains why it is usually reserved for sufferers who have experienced a relapse after a course of metronidazole. Vancomycin treatment also carries a risk of vancomycin resistant enterococcus, with its use now being challenged by some medical institutions. Metronidazole has occasionally been associated with the development of pseudomembranous colitis.

Fecal bacteriotherapy, which involves infusion of bacterial flora acquired from the feces of a healthy donor, has been offered as an alternative cure for the disease. It works by attempting to repair the imbalance of bacteria and with a success rate of nearly 95% it has become an effective therapy for antibiotic resistance in addition to clostridium difficile infections.

In fact, Colitis and Crohn’s disease are often confused with one another since both diseases are very similar as far as their symptoms go and typically, when suffering from Colitis or Crohn’s disease, it is quite common to notice signs such as diarrhea, abdominal cramps, low energy, and fever as well as low appetite and even weight loss.

Both Colitis and Crohn’s disease is caused by inflamed tissues and it is believed that today as many as two million Americans are sufferers of either Colitis or Crohn’s disease.

As far as Crohn’s disease is concerned; it will generally affect the person’s small intestine though at the same time it can occur in the rest of the body as well and thus you could find that it affects the stomach and appendix as well as even the esophagus and also the duodenum, anus and even large intestine. On the other hand, colitis affects only the colon.

However, whether you are suffering from Colitis or Crohn’s disease, it is still possible to find that the diseases go into remission, followed by abrupt flare-ups that can cause deterioration in your well being. In fact, though physically the symptoms could be similar, psychologically they are different and in fact, either condition could even lead to depression as well as unsociable behavior.

The treatment of Colitis and Crohn’s disease can also be similar and most people generally opt to take drugs to cure the symptoms and typically, the drugs taken include antibiotics, immunomodulators, immune suppressants as well as undergoing biological therapy.

However, drugs cannot be taken to cure Colitis Crohn’s disease because colitis can only get cured if the patient undergoes surgery to have their colon removed while surgery for Crohn’s disease that affects many different parts of the body can only provide relief from the symptoms.

There is also the need to distinguish between Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and though the symptoms for both types of these inflammatory bowel diseases are more or less the same, treatments will frequently be different for each condition.

A Major Difference Between Ulcerative Colitis And Crohn’s Disease

The biggest difference between ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease is the part of the body that it affects. With Crohn’s Disease your entire intestinal tract can be affected whereas in the case of ulcerative colitis it is just the large intestine that is affected by the disease. This difference has several implications, the first of which is how to treat the two diseases.

With ulcerative colitis, surgery is a very real option as the disease can be isolated to a portion of the intestine that can be safely removed. This does however have some significant repercussions, the first of which is that the patient will never have a normal bowel movement again. Instead their stool will be passed to a bag that they must carry with them. Not a whole lot of fun, but it is better than the alternative – a lifetime of excruciating pain.

Because it is difficult to track down what part of the intestine is being affected, treating an outbreak of Crohn’s Disease is far more difficult. Diet has to be regulated and monitored for effective treatment and surgery in most cases is ineffective. Considering the outcome of surgery it is in most cases probably not worth the risk, although this is something you should discuss with your doctor if you are having significant problems.

While this is the biggest difference between ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, it is not the only difference between ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Other differences include symptoms for ulcerative colitis that include bloody diarrhea. This is generally not found in Crohn’s Disease.

As you can see the important and subtle difference between ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease will have a huge affect on how the disease is treated. Each has different options for treatment and in many cases will use the same methods. Whether it is drugs or more natural methods, the treatments for the two diseases can be very similar. Similar drugs and medications will both have positive results and can be used in similar ways.

Hopefully this article has helped to explain the subtle but important difference between ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. If you have any further questions or would like information about your particular circumstances, your best option is to visit your own doctor.