Colitis

Colitis Ulcerative or Ulcerative colitis, scientifically known as Colitis Ulcerosa, (UC)is a form of Colitis which causes ulcers or open sores to appear on the walls of the colon or the large intestine. Characterized as a large intestinal disorder, colitis ulcerative is treated by many doctors by the same treatment that they would have used in treating diseases which result from an aberrant immune response.

Ulcerative Colitis symptoms:

Colitis Ulcerative means that the infected patient's stool samples has traces of blood with the stool samples themselves resembling that of a diarrheic patient. Patients suffering from ulcerative colitis report this condition at the gradual onset of the disease. Typically, these patients also show signs of drastic weight loss and blood on rectal examination. One of the most significant symptoms of Ulcerative colitis is abdominal pain varying in different degrees, from moderate to strong cramps.

Ulcerative Colitis is a systemic disease which in addition to infecting the intestine goes on to impact other parts of the body as well. As an example, some of the initial signs of Ulcerative Colitis in a young teenager is painful arthritic knees. There are of course other illnesses that can cause blood in the stools. Blood in the stool could be caused by something as simple as rectal polyps or something as serious as cancer.

Endoscopy is the treatment, which is commonly used by doctors to diagnose ulcerative colitis. In cases when the Endoscopy results are unclear, doctors may use full colonoscopy.

What is the severity of Colitis Ulcerative?
• Mild – Patients diagnosed with mild form of this disease report fewer stools a day, no signs of toxic elements present and a normal ESR count. These patients also report mild abdominal pain in some cases.
• Moderate – Patients who are diagnosed with the moderate stage of ulcerative colitis report more than four stools a day but with minimum toxicity. Such patients also complain of anemia with moderate abdominal pain and body temperature ranging between 38 degrees and 39 degrees Centigrade.
• Severe – Patients suffering from severe colitis ulcerative report more than 6 stools a day with traces of blood, high toxicity in their bodies, anemia and increased ESR count..
• Fulminant – This is the most serious and critical stage of Ulcerative Colitis with the patient passing almost 10 stools a day with blood and having high toxic content in his body. Such patients would need immediate medical attention else ulcerative colitis may prove fatal to them.

Ulcerative Colitis can be treated in various ways, but self-diagnosis and self-treatment is out of the question because as is true with any illness, it needs to be diagnosed by a doctor, and the treatment of it is a decision that should be made by both you and your doctor and not you alone.

Colitis |