Ulcerative colitis treatment is needed by people with this autoimmune disorder wherein the body attacks itself and causes chronic inflammation of the lower part of the intestine, the colon. It is usually diagnosed in people in their teens and twenties, but older and younger people sometimes get it too. For some unknown reason, it is more common in women than men.
The symptoms of ulcerative colitis are cramps and abdominal pain, diarrhea and rectal bleeding. They can become quite severe in some people before they are diagnosed, and lead to weight loss and dehydration. Most people are diagnosed only after treatments for other ailments have failed.
Treatment for ulcerative colitis is aimed at managing the symptoms, because there is no cure for the disorder. Most people with ulcerative colitis have bouts of remission and relapses, usually brought on by medications, but sometimes occurring spontaneously. Surgery is a last-resort treatment for the disease, but its use is generally limited to severe cases with complications.
Medications for ulcerative colitis include anti-inflammatories, which aim to decrease the inflammation and thus the symptoms, and immunosuppressants to treat the hyperactivity of the immune system. These medications come with a list of side effects, but their ability to provide an increased quality of life for ulcerative colitis patients usually makes them worth the risks.
Creams and enemas are available for treatment of patients with only disease of the lower colon, but for those with symptoms in the upper colon, oral medications are necessary. In the past, orally medicating the colon has been difficult, because drugs taken by mouth are mostly absorbed by the time they reach the area they’re supposed to be treating. But recent advances in the technology of time-release drugs has made it easier to treat ulcerative colitis with oral medications.
A while ago, doctors noticed that people who smoked were less likely to be diagnosed with ulcerative colitis than people who didn’t. Nicotine (in a non-cigarette form) was provided to a few patients, and found to be effective in treating some of them.
Surgical ulcerative colitis treatment is kept as a last resort, because it can have permanent and potentially dangerous consequences. If a patient is experiencing long-term, non-responsive symptoms of ulcerative colitis and has exhausted the possible medication options, they might be considered for surgery.
Surgery consists of removing the entire colon and rectum. This results in a need for somewhere for the stool to go, so patients are fitted with an opening in the abdomen that disposable bags are placed over to collect it. This is called an ileostomy. Some advances recently made in surgery for ulcerative colitis make it possible to reattach the intestine to the anus, allowing normal defecation in some patients.
Ulcerative colitis is a difficult disease for sufferers to deal with. It is not generally well known, and the symptoms can be embarrassing and hard to talk about. The disease is chronic, meaning that people who are diagnosed with it must learn to live with the fact that they will likely be dealing with it their whole lives. Ulcerative colitis treatment aims to make those lives more comfortable, but it can be a problematic disease to treat, as well.
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