Ulcerative Colitis Information and Tips

Frequently Asked Questions about Ulcerative Colitis

What is Ulcerative Colitis?
What are the symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis?
What causes Ulcerative Colitis?
What treatments are available for Ulcerative Colitis?
How can I prevent Ulcerative Colitis?
Diet Tips when dealing with the disease

What is ulcerative colitis?

Ulcerative Colitis (Colitis/ Proctitis) is a painful inflammatory bowel disease that causes ulcers in the lining of the large intestine. Because of the inflammation of the rectum the colon empties frequently. That results in frequent diarrhea. The inflammation gradually kills the healthy cells in the lining of the colon, producing bleeding ulcers in the intestinal wall that create pus. The disease mainly occurs between the ages 15 and 40, less frequently between the ages 50 and 70. Approximately 1 million Americans get the disease per year.

What are the symptoms of ulcerative colitis?

The symptoms are

· Bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain
· Weight loss
· Fatigue
· Rectal bleeding
· Loss of appetite

In severe cases ulcerative colitis can even cause arthritis, liver diseases or skin rashes.

What causes ulcerative colitis?

Unfortunately the cause for Ulcerative Colitis has not been discovered yet. Many scientists believe that a virus or bacterium might be the cause for the inflammation and pain.

Certain foods or stress are definitely not the causes, but they may trigger the symptoms and aggravate the pain of the disease.

What treatments are available?

Most patients are treated with medicine prescribed by their doctor. Most of the times a combination of medications and a change in the diet help patients. By avoiding certain foods, the symptoms and pain of ulcerative colitis can be substantially relieved. Patients can thereby improve their quality of life. See diet tips below.

However different experiences have been reported. Therefore the treatment has to be designed individually.

In severe cases (25%-40%) surgery is necessary. The disease can only be cured by removing the ulcers or even the whole colon surgically. That also reduces the risk of getting cancer.

Five percent of all patients develop cancer, often depending on the duration and other factors that doctors can determine with a test.

Researchers are constantly researching new treatment methods and therapies. One possible treatment in the future to stop the inflammation and pain might involve omega-3 fatty acids.

How can I prevent ulcerative colitis?

Since the cause for the disease has not been found yet, there is no possible way to prevent it. People with this disease can only prevent the symptoms to become more severe and try to relieve the pain for a better quality of life.

Diet Tips

Changes in the diet can help relieve the pain and improve the quality of life of ulcerative colitis patients. In general you should avoid any kind of food that causes discomfort and pain. Try to lead a 'food diary' in order to find out which food/food groups provokes the symptoms.

Also try to avoid:

· Spicy and highly seasoned foods
· Raw fruits and vegetables
· Milk products
 

For more information call toll free 1-800 395 2196
MO-FR 9:00 am- 3:00 pm ET (Eastern Time)