You can always contact me on fb...name is Rick Bitty( are name ), from Kent State University. Short answer IBS normally does not produce blood. Unless you have a hemmroid that is causing blood. Inflammation happens like this.....The bacteria attack the mucous layer, trying to get to the epithelial cells. Your epithelial cells are in your respiratory system, your digestive system and your skin. In fact, the cells/tissue in your G.I sytem is like that of skin, kind of. Your cells lay beneath your mucous layer. If I could draw I would to illustrate what I am saying. So a bacteria will attack the mucous layer to destroy those cells. Those cells help produce the mucous layer. If the cells are destroyed and cannot produce enough mucous layer they will then expose the tissue cells.
This is not a copy and paste answer btw, this is me writing, no wikipedia.....lol. View it this way, on the surface we have a layer called the mucous layer. That mucous layer is very thick of mucous fluid, which can help protect those epitheliel cells of an organ system. So when bacteria get in and try to damage the cells, then obviously since those cells help with mucous layer, they cannot produce it as much. This then exposes the tissue. it's almost like if I had a three layer wedding cake( never been married )....but first you have at the top, the mucous layer, in the middle epithileal cells, which helps form the top layer, then at the bottom layer you have tissue. The bacteria tries to get to that tissue, so the mucous layer, or top of the cake, cannot form. The bacteria wants to cancel your wedding lol...so to speak. So in this process, the mucous layer keeps on shedding and shedding. If bacteria get to tissue level, then this triggers inflammation, which then triggers a response, then you have the symptoms. That is with bacteria.
Bacteria to check for, if in stomach is called H.Pylori. It does exactly what I said in the stomach. It can sit for years with no symptoms. Remember inflammation sometimes has to happen to induce symptoms, but does not mean nothing is going on in that three layer cake. We call this gastritis, if in the stomach. Inflammation of the stomach. What do we call inflammation of the colon? Colitis. Read the terms backs wards, then you get the condition.
Again, this is purely with Bacteria infecting. Sometimes, ...I just did a power point on human bacteria, as I grew some in a lab. So I cannot illustrate, but if you have too much bad bacteria overiding the good, it can be bad. That's why anti-biotics can have bad side effects...anti..means against. However, it can kill good and bad. If it happens to kill more good than bad, then problems can arise. This is rare, but why not as I am typing throw it out there.
With IBD. The theory is ...I say theory bc it actually is...There is no known cure or no known cause. If we do not know the cause, than how can we say, we know everything as fact...it's an accepted theory from a pure science prospective. However, in IBD, the antibodies, attack tissue( itself, the host ). Like in the first example, would be with a normal person and a normal immune system...the three layer cake. However, what if we didn't need any layers to the cake? We expose the tissues. Well our antibodies if you will can attack, thinking there is that invader, when there is not.....hence immuno problem...or auto-immune. Like a bad auto pilot....or like The movie, " Wedding Date." The wedding date was supposed to make the girl look good as she was single. However, what if a wedding date did the exact opposite of what their intended purpose was, and self destruct the wedding. It's kind of like that. I just figured if I was giving a three layered cake example.
Ok, so there you have it, and I could type longer and get more specific with auto immune...IBD...but my hand is tiring lol.
So bacteria in a good immune system can do what I said, in the three layer cake. H. pylori can do just that, in the stomach...which can cause Ulcers....which in fact, might be the reason for an endoscopy. An endoscopy would check stomach for things as well. Not saying it's H.pylori....but if nothing is seen on a colonoscopy and it was done rescent, then maybe this can lead to the above thinking( the concept of it, not saying it is bacteria driven or gastritis etc ). Again, things can sit for years, but our auto immune system work well, but when it doesn't...then things can happen. Both small things and big things. Just as a side note.
Also stress like anxiety can speed up your insides by 3-5x the amount. I can right a paper on that....in our bowels we have these waves that help move things. No need to know that. Just know relax, anxiety can just make things worse. Also, usually anything out of the ordinary ...your ordinary....so say if someone with UC bleeds 3 times a day....then does it again...well that's their normal. However, lets say if someone never bleeds and completely healthy, then that is not normal. If person who bleeds 3 times a day, starts to bleed 10 times, then that's not their normal. So anything that is severe that is not normal should get a docs opinion usually within a week. So it is only an accute problem and does not develop into chronic....We always say this with sports injuries, cause us guys like to tough it out. Ha. Left side pain can be IBD....but don't assume it, as it may not be. Sometimes the internet is a bad search as it does have no one with actual factual truth writing.
I mean bowel blockage can cause sharp pain in left side as things try to get from ileum( the last part of your small intestine ) to the colon. Sometimes things block, and liquid can still pass through. So many examples I could give for symptoms.
Anyway, anyone can feel free to contact me on FB in regards to UC or talk. Fb handle is Rick Bitty.
- Kent State University
Hope this helped. Hope all goes well.