Crohn’s Vs Colitis

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis or plainly colitis are two forms of IBD or inflammatory bowel diseases. They are very much related to one another but are separate or dissimilar diseases.

Foremost, Crohn’s disease and colitis differ in the place or spot where the inflammation is located. The first usually has a more extensive area of involvement. The inflammation can usually start and progress anywhere down the length of the digestive tract from the oral mucosa in the mouth up to the ends of the anus. Conversely, the inflammation in colitis is much more localized in the large intestine. Nonetheless, there are some cases wherein the inflammation of colitis will also stretch further to the distal end of the small colon or the juncture between the small and large intestine.

Although both diseases share almost the same types of signs and symptoms, there are still a number of occurrences that happen only in one type of disease. Chron’s patients suffer from pain at the lower right quadrant of the abdomen. This is the usual symptom although not all cases of Chron’s will manifest into this kind of pain. On the other hand, colitis manifests pain at the lower left abdominal quadrant.

In terms of bleeding tendencies during movements of the bowel or fecal evacuation, it is in colitis that bleeding at the rectal opening often takes place. In the case of Chron’s disease, bleeding is rarely seen.

The pattern of inflammation is also different between the two diseases. Colitis often has a continuous inflammatory process, which usually starts from the rectum and eventually spreads throughout the large intestine whereas Chron’s inflammation progresses in a series of patches, commonly in more than one digestive organ. As an example, you may see an inflamed area of your large colon sandwiched between two non-affected areas.

Lastly, complications of strictures and fistulas are also frequently happening in Chron’s disease but are rarely occurring in colitis cases.

Summary:
1. Chron’s disease usually has a more extensive area of coverage inflaming the entire digestive tract whereas colitis usually involves the large colon only.
2. Chron’s disease is often manifested with pain at the lower right abdominal quadrant whereas colitis is manifested with pain at the lower left abdominal quadrant.
3. Colitis often shows some bleeding at the rectum while Chron’s rarely shows such manifestation.
4. Colitis has a continuous pattern of inflammation along the colon whereas Chron’s usually manifests as several inflamed patches.
5. Complications are often seen in Chron’s like strictures and fistulas but are rare in colitis.