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Your first visit will allow your gastroenterologist to evaluate your symptoms. As part of that consultation, your gastroenterologist may request additional tests or procedures, such as blood tests, imaging studies, or endoscopic examinations for diagnosis or treatment.

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease which causes long-lasting inflammation and ulcers in the large intestine. There are sub types of ulcerative colitis depending on its extent.

• Ulcerative proctitis: It only involves rectum.

• left-sided colitis: It involves the rectum, sigmoid and descending colon.

• Extensine colitis: It involves rectum/ Sigmoid / Descending & Transverse colon.

• Pancolitis: It affects the entire colon cause’s bloody diarrhea, severe pain, fatigue and common symptoms are colon.

The exact cause of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is not known, but the one possible cause is an immune system malfunction. There are some risk factors which are associated with IBD such as family history, smoking, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines, age etc.

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease which can affect any part of GI Track, it leads to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition. There is no cure for Crohn’s disease but there are some treatment options which can control the diseases activity and hence relief of symptoms.

Symptoms of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease include diarrhea, fever, reduced appetite, abdominal pain and cramping, unintended weight loss, fatigue, and blood in the stool.

Mild pain, swelling and inflammation can be treated with home treatments such as eating high fibre foods, using over-the-counter hemorrhoid cream, taking oral pain relievers, etc. but if higher grade hemorrhoid then, the gastrointestinal surgeon will perform the hemorrhoidectomy. In this procedure, the surgeon removes the hemorrhoid which provides immediate relief.

For internal hemorrhoids there are minimally invasive procedures such as rubber band ligation or sclerotherapy, can be done.

There are three types of hemorrhoids:

• External hemorrhoids: They develop under the skin around the anus. It causes pain, swelling, itching, and swelling around the anus.

• Internal hemorrhoids: They develop inside the rectum and you can’t see or feel them. It causes painless bleeding during bowel movements.

• Thrombosed hemorrhoids: Sometimes blood within the hemorrhoids sets thrombased causes severe pain.

Heartburn occurs when stomach acid reflux up into the tube i.e esophagus that carries food from the mouth to the stomach.

The symptoms of GERD include a burning sensation in the chest usually after eating or at night, pain that worsens when lying down, bitter acidic taste in the mouth or food refluxing back into mouth or chronic cough.

Polyps are the non – cancerous (Pre – malignant) growth that develops on the lining of the colon. Most colon polyps are not harmful but sometimes they can develop into colon cancer. There are two types of polyps:

• Non-neoplastic: They include hyperplastic polyps, inflammatory polyps and hamartomatous polyps. They are usually non-cancerous.

• Neoplastic: They include adenomas and serrated types. These type of polyps have potential to become cancerous over time.

The unregulated growth of cells in the colon and rectum cause polyps to form. They can develop anywhere in the large intestine. Sometimes can be genetics also.

If a person is having symptoms such as abnormal bowel movements, rectal bleeding, frequent heartburn, abdominal pain/bloating, trouble swallowing, etc, they might need to visit a gastroenterologist. Gastrointestinal science is not only concerned with disorders related to the stomach and intestines but it also includes normal function and diseases of the oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum, pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts, and liver.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases.

Gastrointestinal problems may arise due to various reasons such as bacteria in food, infection, stress, certain medications, or chronic medical conditions such as colitis, Crohn's disease, and IBS.

There are numerous types of bacteria that can cause one or more disorders related to the GI tract. Some bacteria are E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Clostridium, etc.