Understanding The Options In Ulcerative Colitis Treatment

Ulcerative colitis is an autoimmune disorder where the body attacks its own cells, causing inflammation and pain in the lower part of the intestine, called the colon. It's not known why this malfunction of the immune system occurs, but it is more common in women than in men, and is usually diagnosed in people in their teens and twenties. Ulcerative colitis treatment attempts to lessen the symptoms of the disorder.

Ulcerative colitis symptoms include cramps and abdominal pain, diarrhea and rectal bleeding. Besides being unpleasant and painful, these symptoms can cause weight loss and dehydration before a diagnosis is made. Most sufferers only get a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis after being treated unsuccessfully for other ailments.

The goal in treating ulcerative colitis is to relieve the symptoms, because there is no cure for the condition. Remission and relapse cycles are common in sufferers, and while they are usually brought about by medications, every once in a while they occur spontaneously. There are surgical treatments available, but they are considered last-resort options.

Two large classes of medications make up the main drugs used to induce remission in ulcerative colitis sufferers. These are the anti-inflammatories, which are aimed at reducing inflammation in the colon, and the immunosuppressants, which lower the overall activity of the hyperactive immune system in UC patients. They both can have serious side effects.

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.

Surgery as an ulcerative colitis treatment is a last resort, because of the permanent and potentially damaging consequences. Patients with long-term disease that does not respond to treatment and who have tried many different treatments are usually the only candidates 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.

People with ulcerative colitis face a challenge. The disease can be hard on many parts of their lives, and ulcerative colitis treatment can have unpleasant side effects and is not always as effective as they would hope. Additionally, the symptoms of the disease can be embarrassing, and the disorder is not that well known. But medicine is advancing every days, and already things are much better for sufferers than they were in the past.

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