An Introduction to Blood Tests for Colitis and Crohn's Disease

Ulcerative colitis is a brutal disorder that is exemplified by frequent occurrences of abdominal pain, soaring temperatures, nausea and acute dysentery. There is no definite cause for ulcerative colitis. The most widespread risk factor ascribed to this disease is an uncharacteristic assaulting of the intestine or bowels by one's own immune system. It may also be attributed to heredity. Of late, studies have shown smoking to cause this ailment. Other aspects such as diet and an assortment of infections may also cause colitis.

If you have any of the above symptoms, a simple blood test can confirm this disease. You can take advantage of a simple test that can be done at home. You can prick and collect a small amount of blood as sample. This can be sent to a pathological lab where further tests will be undertaken to reveal the presence of any antibody to particular food items. Antibody blood tests look for specific markers of ulcerative colitis, called serological markers.

Crohn's disease is also an inflammatory ailment of the bowel and the intestines which greatly distresses a large portion of the GI tract -from mouth to rectum. This in turn leads to a range of indications. It primarily causes abdominal ache, dysentery, vomiting along with weight loss. It could also provoke the inflammation of skin, arthritis, and swelling and tenderness of the eyes, weakness and an attention deficit. Crohn's disease is regarded as an autoimmune disease, in which the body's own immune response overwhelms the GI passage and causes the inflammation.

Blood tests are necessary for the diagnosis of Crohn's Disease. The physician cannot identify the disease based only on the symptoms. Blood tests for anemia may show if there is a blood loss in the intestine. If the white blood cell count in the blood tests is high, then it might indicate an inflammation in any other region of the body.

Irritable bowel syndrome or IBS is another common colitis affecting many people. Essentially, this is a result of an extremely prone GI tract. Irritable bowel syndrome can have diverse medical manifestations. The symptoms can vary from diarrhea, constipation, stomach pains or lost ability to hold food. All these symptoms are the indications of the same ailment.

Blood tests for irritable bowel syndrome involve a complete blood count or CBC to search for indications of bleeding or anemia. Prolific WBC count and/or platelet count might indicate an irritation or infection. Fecal blood tests are also used to diagnose IBS.

In short, many people suffer from these inflammations of the GI tract. Getting to know some of the tests for diagnosing the same may help these people.