Frequent, mucousy,
diarrhoea (up to 20 times a day) which may contain streaks of blood
Abdominal cramping
Fever, malaise, loss of
appetite and weight
Ulcerative colitis (“UC”)
is a chronic inflammatory disease of the mucosa of the large bowel and rectum
characterised by symptoms of bloody diarrhoea.
See also Crohns Disease. See
also irritable bowel syndrome.
|
Frequent, mucousy,
diarrhoea (up to 20 times a day) which may contain streaks of blood |
|
Abdominal cramping |
|
Fever, malaise, loss of
appetite and weight |
Diagnosis is mainly on
history and the presence of blood in the stool specimen. Culturing the stools
for micro-organisms is necessary to rule out an infectious cause of bloody
diarrhoea. The diagnosis is established by sigmoidoscopy,
where the bowel is visualised directly.
|
Sulphasalazine to
reduce inflammation |
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Steroids (eg Prednisolone) to reduce inflammation |
|
Painkillers |
|
Special diets (eg
avoidance of high fibre foods, raw fruits and vegetables) |
|
Colectomy (removal of
the large bowel) |
|
Hemi-colectomy (removal
of part of the large bowel) |
The cause is unknown.
Two main age groups are especially affected, with diagnoses most common between the ages of 15 and 25 and the ages of 50 and 70. It is most common in whites and European Jews. In the United States, 7 people per 100,000 people are diagnosed as having UC annually.
| National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease (UK) 4 Beaumont House Sutton Road St Albans Herts AL1 5HH United Kingdom |