Compliments of the season. I belong to a WhatsApp group that promotes health. Someone posted that his father is suffering from Ulcerative colitis and needs to be taken abroad for care. Kindly use your column to share useful information about the problem.
Patricia X.
Thanks for your question Patricia. Ulcerative colitis can be defined as an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes long-lasting inflammation and ulcers (sores) in the digestive tract. Ulcerative colitis affects the innermost lining of the large intestine (colon) and rectum.
What are the symptoms?
- Diarrhoea, often with blood or pus
- Abdominal pain and cramping and rectal pain
Rectal bleeding (passing small amount of blood with stool)
- Urgency to defecate
- Inability to defecate despite urgency
Weight loss, fatigue and fever
- In children, failure to grow
What are the types of Ulcerative colitis?
- Ulcerative proctitis: Inflammation is confined to the area closest to the anus (rectum), and rectal bleeding may be the only sign of the disease. This form of ulcerative colitis tends to be the mildest.
- Proctosigmoiditis: Inflammation involves the rectum and sigmoid colon (lower end of the colon).
- Left-sided colitis: Inflammation extends from the rectum up through the sigmoid and descending colon.
- Pancolitis: Pancolitis often affects the entire colon and causes bouts of bloody diarrhea that may be severe.
Acute severe ulcerative colitis: This rare form of colitis affects the entire colon.
What are some of the causes?
Immune system malfunction.
- Heredity also seems to play a role in that ulcerative colitis is more common in people who have family members with the disease.
What are some of the risk factors?
- Ulcerative colitis usually begins before the age of 30. But it can occur at any age, and some people may not develop the disease until after age 60.
- Although whites have the highest risk of the disease, it can occur in any race.
What are some of the complications?
- Severe bleeding
- A hole in the colon (perforated colon) and Severe dehydration
- Liver disease (rare) and bone loss (osteoporosis)
- Inflammation of your skin, joints, and eyes
- An increased risk of colon cancer
- A rapidly swelling colon and increased risk of blood clots in veins and arteries
How to make a diagnosis?
- Blood tests. Your doctor may suggest blood tests to check for anemia, a condition in which there are not enough red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to the tissues.
- Stool sample. White blood cells in the stool can indicate ulcerative colitis.
- Colonoscopy. This exam allows a doctor to view the entire colon using a thin, flexible, lighted tube with an attached camera. During the procedure, a doctor can also take small samples of tissue (biopsy) for laboratory analysis.
- CT scan. A CT scan of the abdomen or pelvis may be performed if a doctor suspects a complication from ulcerative colitis. A CT scan may also reveal how much of the colon is inflamed.
What are some of the treatment options?
Several categories of drugs may be effective in treating ulcerative colitis. The type one takes will depend on the severity of the condition and location. The drugs that work well for some people may not work for others.
- Surgery can often eliminate ulcerative colitis. But that usually means removing the entire colon and rectum (proctocolectomy).
- Lifestyle and home remedies. Changes in the diet and lifestyle may help control symptoms. Foods to limit or avoid, dairy products, fiber, Spicy foods, alcohol, and caffeine.
