What kind of disease can you get in the digestive system?

Answer 1

There are many different diseases that can affect the digestive system. It would be very hard to put together a complete list.

There are diseases that erode the lining of the digestive system. Reflux disease causes stomach acid to splash up to areas that aren't protected against acid, causing them damage and even leading to cancer. There is a bacteria that can live in the stomach or duodenum that erodes the lining, causing ulcers. People can take medicines that keep the stomach from rebuilding its lining. Enough erosion can lead to contents leaking inside the abdomen, which can be deadly.

There are bacteria that can infect the digestive system. There is one that already lives there who is normally kept in check by healthy bacteria. But someone taking antibiotics may kill those healthy bacteria off, letting the unhealthy bacteria grow uncontrollably. Small children and the elderly are particularly subject to this problem, and some can die from this.

There are cancers that can affect the digestive system. Besides the ones caused by chronic damage by erosion, there are ones caused by buildup of toxic chemicals in the intestines. Eating lots of red meat is said to contribute to this.

People who don't eat properly (especially not getting enough fiber) can form hard feces that stretch and tear the intestines in places.

There are immune system diseases which cause the body to attack the digestive system. This can be very miserable.

There are tubes that let digestive juices flow into the digestive system, and these tubes can get plugged up when people eat a poor diet. This can lead to serious problems where the digestive juices start digesting your own body, and this can also lead to a deadly cancer.

There are a lot of diseases that affect the liver. You may or may not consider this part of the digestive system. If you do consider it, it adds a lot of diseases to the list.