Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes long–lasting inflammation and ulcers or sores in the digestive tract and affects the innermost lining of the large intestines or colon and the rectum. The symptoms develop gradually. By enrolling in a course on first aid today, you can help ease the symptoms.
Symptoms of ulcerative colitis
- Experiencing abdominal pain and cramping
- Diarrhea, sometimes with blood or pus and experiencing rectal pain
- Rectal bleeding like passing small amounts of blood together with stool
- An urgency to defecate and inability to defecate despite the urgency
- Experiencing loss of weight
- There is fatigue and fever
People suffering from ulcerative colitis have mild to moderate symptoms, but some people have long periods of remission.
Ulcerative colitis is classified on how the colon is affected and the condition can be mild and affects only the rectum also known as ulcerative proctitis. If it affects other parts of the colon, it can have more severe symptoms. Ulcerative colitis that develops during a younger age can have more severe symptoms.
Severe symptoms of ulcerative colitis
- Presence of blood in the stool
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea that does not respond to over-the-counter medications
- A diarrhea that disturbs a person during sleep
- Experiencing fever that lasts for more than a day or two
Causes of ulcerative colitis
- Diet and stress
- The immune system does not function normally
- Ulcerative colitis can be caused by heredity but some people with ulcerative colitis do not have a family history of these condition.
Complications that ulcerative colitis can cause include experiencing severe dehydration and bleeding, a hole in the colon can develop also known as perforated colon, osteoporosis, swelling of the colon also known as toxic mega colon and an increased risk of developing cancer of the colon. People with ulcerative colitis can have increased risk of having blood clots found in veins and arteries and inflammation of the skin, eyes, joints and some sores can be found in the lining of the mouth.
Factors that have increases the risk of acquiring this condition include the age of the person. It usually develops before 30, but it can also happen at any age and some people do not develop this disease until 60 years old. White people are more susceptible to this disease, but it can also happen at any race.
Treatment and home remedies
- Minimize the consumption of dairy products and avoid eating butter, margarine, cream sauces and fried foods
- Avoid eating fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grain since they make the symptoms worse. Cook the foods by steaming, baking or stewing them.
- Avoid eating spicy foods, drinking alcohol and caffeine.
- Eat five to six small meals a day rather than two or more larger meals a day
- Drink plenty of fluids everyday especially water.
- Take multivitamin and mineral supplements
- Avoid being stressed since it can make the symptoms worse. Stress can be controlled by doing some mild exercises to help relieve depression and for normal functioning of the bowel and doing some regular relaxation and breathing exercises like yoga and meditations to help minimize stress.