Colitis Treatment Information

This article gives you information about ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease etc. You can get information about the various symptoms of this disease.

All of us know that ulcerative colitis is a painful condition. Many people mistake it for Crohn's disease. The reason is that both the diseases affect the intestine. But the difference is that colitis affects the colon part of the intestine, the later affects ileum, or small intestine. Some people confuse colitis with irritable bowel syndrome also. In ulcerative colitis, inflammation of the lining of colon results in ulcers. As a result pus is formed and sometimes bleeding also occurs. So, the patient has diarrhea with bleeding.

It is difficult to differentiate between ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. This is because both the diseases have more or less the same symptoms. One of the main difference of Crohn's disease is that it affects the ileum, esophagus and even mouth. This disease can affect any person irrespective of sex and age. Usually it affects people between 15 to 40. Some clinical studies reveal a hereditary factor. According to some clinical studies, this disease runs in some families. So, if you have a case history, you should try to take care to prevent it. Many theories exist for the colitis, though the real reason behind it has not be proven yet. It is known to be an autoimmune disease.

The common symptoms are fatigue, weight loss, diarrhea, joint pain, anemia, etc. The most important thing about the symptom is that they occur in periodic intervals. Some may experience muscular cramps, loss of fluid from body etc. In children, it results in growth failure. Whatever the symptom may be, it causes severe irritation in the patient. So, it is better to treat it as soon as possible. Moreover, it is important to rule out the other two diseases like Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Usually doctors do a physical examination followed by a blood sample. A stool check follows. Finally, an endoscopy is done to diagnose the disease.

Once it is diagnosed as colitis, the treatment varies. This is because severity of the disease also varies from person to person. The common treatment is of course drug therapy. Here the patient is administered tablets like aminosalicylates; Sulfasalazine is usually given as tablets, injections or enemas. Corticosteroids are also given to reduce inflammation. In severe conditions, hospitalization may be necessary. And if the patient does not react positively to drug therapy, a colonoscopy is advised.