Can colitis be caused by cashews?

No history of colitis.
In April, I ate a half can of cashews. (Contains urushiol. Active material in poison ivy or poison oak ).
Next day, while coincidentally at a long-scheduled doctor's appointment, I vomited. (I virtually never vomit).
Mid October, 6 months later, I developed severe diarrhea for 8 days. Admitted to hospital, they diagnosed with some version of colitis. Stayed in hosp for 3 weeks Gradually got better over next couple months
My question:
Is it possible the cashews triggered the colitis?

Probably not

Doubtful.

When I was first diagnosed I blamed it on popcorn (it was a busy time at work and that was often my lunch). It was years before I started eating it again, but I don't have any issues with it. I don't blame popcorn anymore. I don't blame anything. I just won the UC lottery when I was 54 ha ha.

How are you doing now?

CCinPA, Was that around the time of your first colonoscopy for colon cancer? I heard a theory that a lot of older UCers get it after the colonoscopy flushes out their micro biome which leaves it open for bad players.

FF -- I never heard that before. I had the colon cancer screening a couple years before I developed UC so doubt there was a link in my situation.

I just heard the idea from this video:
https://youtu.be/2onfaJafztE

beave said...
Youtube is full of con artists and misinformation, whether the topic is medicine/health, or political, or financial, or other science, or even lots of hobbyist content. It truly saddens me that this is what the internet has become.

I remember when I first went on the internet back in the 90s. I was amazed that I could find so much good info about anything I wanted to learn about. It was amazing to me. Game changing. Good quality info. Now the internet is a massive dump of good, bad, terrible and harmful info and we are left to sort through everything to determine the value of the info on our own. Anyone can put anything online now. The internet is a murky place to get lost ... question everything.

This is true but someone who calls themselves The Gut Ninja is probably not medically or scientifically trained or practising (although the other side of the coin, if someone calls themselves Dr so-and-so MD that is also not a guarantee of capabilities. Long and short of it is that IBD (or in fact most) experts do not post home videos on YouTube)

Why do you assume that the cashews triggered the colitis? It's very possible that the colitis caused your intolerance to the cashews!

Instead of looking at the cashews as the cause of the UC, look at stressful events in your life over the past year. Stressful events, poor diet, alcohol or drug abuse, chlorinated tap water, and poor air quality are all much more likely to have triggered your UC.

Post Edited (magicbeans) : 3/6/2023 12:15:57 PM (GMT-8)