Gastroenterologist and when should you consider meeting one

In case you have been dealing with constant digestive issues or having frequent episodes of abdominal pain, or your bowel movement is not balanced well. It would help if you were looking for a good and renowned gastroenterologist to help you deal with these discomforts.

Most people would not even know who a gastroenterologist is? What they do and when one should be visiting one.

Gastroenterologist and his job: 

 Digestion is an essential function of the body, and a well-functioning digestive system ensures great body functioning. It removes any unwanted toxins that may be present in your body. Your gastrointestinal tract includes the esophagus, small and large intestines, stomach, anus, and rectum. The pancreas, bile ducts, liver, and gall bladder also form a part. Now, if an individual deals with disorders or diseases related to those mentioned above, it is a good idea to see a specialist.

A gastroenterologist is a specialist with expertise in dealing with these disorders. Apart from several disorders that they can treat, some known ones are as under:

1. Hemorrhoids
2. Ulcers
3. Heartburn
4. Irritable bowel syndrome
5. Inflammatory bowel syndrome
6. Pancreatitis
7. Gastric reflux
8. Changes in bowel habits could include constipation, stool blood, and loose motions.
   
   Besides medically detecting and treating the disease with medicines, a gastroenterologist is also trained to perform some procedures. These procedures not only help in detecting but also treating the concern. These procedures are colonoscopy, endoscopy, biopsy, and several others that are used in clearly visualizing the digestive system so that effective diagnostics can be done.

Time to see the doctor

 Let us list down seven reasons when you should consider visiting a gastroenterologist.

Continues diarrhea: Having diarrhea could be a reason for eating unclean food, a food infection, a section to some medication, and many more. A situation in which one either has continuous episodes of these or if you are someone that has always dealt with loose motion, it’s time you see a doctor.

Constipation: Bowel movement changes from one person to the other. It is usually considered that if an individual’s bowel movement is less than three times a week, they are most likely constipated. It is not just the frequency but also if it’s too tight, small, or extremely difficult to pass.

Heartburn: Having heartburn occasionally is fine and should not worry you in any way. Heartburns are easily treatable at home with several remedies. Heartburn that occurs several times in a week is commonly known as GERD and can even harm your esophagus if left untreated.

Bloating: A feeling of having a very high tummy or feeling gassy is termed bloating. Constipation could most commonly lead to bloating since all the toxic waste remains in the body longer than required and causes bacteria development. The bacteria cause the production of gas and hence bloating. Another reason could be being lactose intolerant. It is for the doctor to check and decide what the actual reason is and how it should be treated.

Apart from these, some other reasons that could require the doctor’s interference are a trace of blood in stools or severe and sudden pain in the abdomen.

Originally posted 2022-07-01 21:12:07.