The weak bowel wall of the diverticulum may give away and result in a small perforation or a hole causing leakage of fecal material outside of bowel wall. Patients may develop pain, fever and other signs of abdominal infection. Medical treatment is effective but sometimes patients may need to go to surgery. Diverticulosis may occur less commonly in other parts of the digestive tract. While diverticulosis is a well known cause of massive painless bleeding, bleeding from an inflamed diverticulum or diverticulitis is rare.
Occult bleeding is very rare.
Thus, when a slow, intermittent and small amounts of blood loss is suspected, it is less likely to be due to diverticulosis. Traveller s diarrhea is generally caused by bowel bacteria. It is usually a result of breakdown in sanitation techniques. The major component of prevention is dietary discretion which not only protects against traveler s diarrhea but also other illnesses like hepatitis. Antibacterial agents are effective for prevention but not routinely recommended.