Diverticulitis

For a lay person:

Diverticulitis is inflammation or infection of small pouches (diverticula) that form in the wall of the large bowel. It usually causes pain in the lower left abdomen with fever.

For a trained medical person:

Inflammation of colonic diverticula, uncomplicated or complicated by abscess, perforation, fistula or obstruction. Diagnosis by CT. Uncomplicated cases are often managed with rest, diet and selective antibiotics; complicated disease may need drainage or surgery.

In Chinese medicine:

Flaws and Sionneau's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Qi and yin deficiency with qi stagnation and blood stasis; Q ideficiency with damp heat stasis and stagnation; Upright qi deficiency weakness with heat toxins brewing and binding. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: Get urgent care for severe abdominal pain, high fever, vomiting or rectal bleeding.