Colitis

Of all the diseases involving inflammation of the colon, microscopic colitis is an inflammation disease whose cause is relatively unknown. Many scientists have tried to conclude that this disease is caused due to consumption of antibiotics, but the results are inconclusive as yet. The common name for this form of colitis is given just for the fact that the treatment for Collagenous and Lymphocytic Colitis is almost the same. The fact that it is observed more commonly in middle aged women makes it a very dreadful disease for those that are experiencing it.

Why do women get more affected due to Microscopic Colitis?

Women have auto immune syndromes more than men and essentially, Microscopic Colitis is one amongst the auto immune syndromes. Women use high dosages of estrogens which make their body more susceptible to Microscopic Colitis. Additionally, the use of non steroidal inflammatory drugs have adverse impact on a woman's body hence making her more susceptible to this form of colitis.

What are the symptoms of Microscopic Colitis?

Patients report frequent diarrheic attacks as the one major symptom of Microscopic Colitis. Microscopic colitis also goes on to affect the intestine by causing inflammations in the intestine. When the intestine is inflamed, it can manifest as a gastrointestinal attack or one can simply feel bloated until some secondary symptom appears. If the true cause of the symptoms is bacterial in origin, then the bacteria that are the cause of Microscopic Colitis can only be detected with the use of high-power microscopes.

How can Microscopic colitis be treated?

· One can use Pepto Bismol which is a drug manufactured by Procter and Gamble. This drug has shown good results over the past years in treating diarrhea. It is extremely important for patients to continue with the medication of this drug as stoppage of the medication would result in the symptoms of Colitis Microscopic resurfacing again. To reduce diarrheic symptoms, one can also look at using Lomotil or Imodium which are proven drugs over the years.

· The physicians must analyze the stool sample very carefully. The stools are a direct diagnosis of what is going in the intestine. The stool sample will clearly indicate the presence of antibodies in the intestine and one could look at ensuring that only the helpful antibody or the bacteria is present in the intestine. This is a highly complex process and I would recommend that highly technological labs who do these kind of tests are used.

· Whatever happens, any treatment which has use of an NSAID will reduce the effectiveness of the treatment.

The diseases, microscopic, collagenous and lymphocytic colitis are almost all the same. However, most people group them together referring to them all as Microscopic Colitis.

Colitis |