Rimma Goldberg is a Gastroenterologist based at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne in Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Gastroenterology is about the gut and also nearby organs, like the liver and bile system. In day to day care, Rimma helps look after people dealing with bowel and gut problems that can be upsetting, uncomfortable, and hard to manage on your own.
Some of the main conditions Rimma treats include colitis and ulcerative colitis. These are types of bowel inflammation, and they can cause things like ongoing diarrhoea, stomach cramps, and bleeding. There’s also Crohn's disease, another long term condition that can affect different parts of the digestive tract and can flare up from time to time.
At times, gut symptoms can be linked to infections. Viral gastroenteritis is one example. It usually comes on after exposure to a virus and can lead to vomiting and diarrhoea, with dehydration being a key concern. Getting the right advice early can make a big difference for comfort and recovery.
Rimma also looks after people with specific and sometimes more unusual gut-related issues, such as hemorrhagic proctocolitis. This involves inflammation in the bowel, and it may bring bleeding or blood-stained stool. In some cases, Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy is part of the picture too. This is a liver/bile issue that can happen during pregnancy and often shows up as strong itching, so timely care is important.
Another condition listed for her care is agranulocytosis, which is not a gut illness in the usual sense, but it can affect how the body handles infections and can be a serious issue. People with this condition often need careful monitoring and clear next steps.
Overall, the focus is on getting to the cause of symptoms, supporting treatment decisions, and helping people understand what’s going on with their gut and related organs, especially when things are not straightforward.
