Most individuals come to attention of physicians when they present with severe ulcerative colitis symptoms. But just what is colitis? Ulcerative colitis is a relatively rare inflammatory disorder which only affects the large bowel. The disorder typically presents with abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea and low grade fever. Like Crohn disease, ulcerative colitis (UC) can lead to a number of life threatening complications. Unlike Crohn disease however, ulcerative colitis only affects the inner lining of the large bowel and rectum and does not occur in patches.

Ulcerative colitis causes the following symptoms:

Feeling of urgency to have bowel movements
Rectal pain
Rectal bleeding
Abdominal cramps
Low grade fever
Diarrhea
Weight loss

These symptoms are often mistaken for food poisoning and the diagnosis is often delayed.
Current belief is that there is something wrong with the immune system in these individuals. Ulcerative colitis can occur at any age but most commonly present in the 2/3 decade of life. It is most common in people of Jewish descent.

UC is also associated with complications like severe dehydration, bleeding, liver disease, bone weakening, joint pains, eye problems, and an increase risk of colon cancer. The diagnosis of UC involves blood tests, analyzing stool samples, looking at the colon with a flexible camera, Ct scans and barium enema.

Once diagnosis of UC is made, the initial treatment is usually drug therapy. Unfortunately there is no colitis cure at present. In most cases anti inflammatory drugs like Sulfasalazine are started. Other drugs are administered as enemas, corticosteroids or suppositories which help reduce inflammation in the rectum. When the disease is severe, immunosuppressive drugs are used. Another effective drug is infliximab is often used to treat UC. For some unknown reason nicotine patches are also used to treat patients with UC and work very well. Other medications include pain relievers, antibiotics and iron supplements.
When drug therapy fails, surgery can cure UC. The entire colon is removed and the results are excellent.

There is no such thing as a colitis diet but one should try and avoid dairy products and add fiber to food. However, fiber can make the diarrhea worse and increase gas pains, so one should be careful about too much fiber. Foods like acidic fruits, cabbage, popcorn, alcohol, caffeine and colas should be avoided. Experts recommend eating small meals and drinking plenty of fluids. Because vitamins are not absorbed well in people with UC, one can take supplements. Finally it is best to avoid stress which is known to worsen symptoms of UC.

Many individuals do seek alternative therapies for UC like probiotics, fish oil, aloe Vera and acupuncture. In any case, talk to your doctor before you embark on any experimental colitis treatment. Ulcerative colitis symptoms are usually amenable to conventional medical therapies and the less you muck around with unproven cyberspace therapies the better you will feel.