Where is ulcerative colitis found

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Home Understanding Ulcerative Colitis. Watch a Video on the Basics of UC. Not all symptoms occur in everyone; some are more common than others and can range in severity. Ulcerative colitis is a long-term condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed. The colon is the large intestine bowel and the rectum is the end of the bowel where stools are stored. Small ulcers can develop on the colon's lining, and can bleed and produce pus.

You may also experience extreme tiredness fatigue , loss of appetite and weight loss. The severity of the symptoms varies, depending on how much of the rectum and colon is inflamed and how severe the inflammation is. For some people, the condition has a significant impact on their everyday lives. Some people may go for weeks or months with very mild symptoms, or none at all remission , followed by periods where the symptoms are particularly troublesome flare-ups or relapses.

During a flare-up, some people with ulcerative colitis also experience symptoms elsewhere in their body. This means that it is ongoing and lifelong, although you may have long periods of good health known as remission, as well relapses or flare-ups when your symptoms are more active.

Everyone is different — in many people the disease is mild with few flare-ups, while other people may have more severe disease. At present there is no cure for Ulcerative Colitis, but drugs, and sometimes surgery, can give long periods of relief from symptoms.

When we eat, the food goes down the oesophagus into the stomach, where gastric digestive juices break it down to a porridge-like consistency. The partly digested food then moves into the small intestine, also known as the small bowel. Here it is broken down even further so that the useful nutrients from food can be absorbed into the bloodstream through the wall of the intestine.

The waste products from this process - liquid and undigested parts of food - then pass into the colon, which is also known as the large intestine or large bowel. The colon absorbs the liquid, and the leftover waste forms solid faeces stools. These collect in the last part of the colon and the rectum until they are pushed out of the body through the anus in a bowel movement.

Ulcers can develop on the colon lining and these can bleed or produce mucus. The inflamed colon is less able to absorb the liquid and this can lead to a larger volume of watery stools. Also, because the colon cannot hold as much waste as normal, very frequent bowel movements six or more a day may occur. They may also change over time, with periods of remission where you have good health and no symptoms, alternating with relapses or flare-ups, when your symptoms are troublesome.

Colitis is a very individual condition - some people can remain well for a long time, even for many years, while others have frequent flare-ups. Your symptoms may vary according to how much of the colon is inflamed and how severe the inflammation is, but the most common symptoms during a flare-up are:.

You are more likely to develop anaemia if you are losing a lot of blood or not eating well. Anaemia can make you feel very tired. Also, much can depend on the severity of your condition and on whether your disease is in a quiet or an active phase. Some people with Colitis may never have more than mild and infrequent symptoms of diarrhoea and pain, so the illness may not affect their lives very much.

Other people have continuous and severe symptoms in spite of medical treatment, and have to adapt their lifestyle considerably. We also have information sheets on Managing Bloating and Wind and Diarrhoea and Constipation, amongst other symptoms. You are likely to see your GP and specialist doctor on a fairly regular basis if you have Colitis. Many hospitals also have a specialist IBD nurse, who is often the first point of contact for information and support when you are unwell.

It can be very helpful to build a good relationship with your healthcare team, so that you can ask about your options and discuss any concerns and worries. Living with a chronic condition can have both an emotional and practical impact. It can help to have the understanding and support of those around you — your family, friends, work colleagues and employers. We have information that may be useful, such as IBD and Employment: A guide for employers , and IBD and Employment: A guide for employees , as well as similar publications for students and universities.

See the How we can help you section at the end of this booklet for more information. You may still find that Colitis takes a considerable toll on your emotional wellbeing. In this case, you may find it helpful to talk to a counsellor. Our information on Counselling and IBD has information on how counselling may be able to help. I have a good relationship with my local hospital and am fortunate to have an excellent IBD nurse.

Knowing that I can contact her when I start to experience a flare-up, and knowing that she will help as much as she can, helps to reduce the stress of the situation and speed up treatment. Colitis is more common in urban than rural areas, and in northern developed countries - although the numbers are beginning to increase in developing nations.

Colitis is also more common in white Europeans, especially those of Ashkenazi Jewish descent those who lived in Eastern Europe and Russia.

Colitis affects women and men equally. However, health professionals consider the risks of smoking greatly outweigh any benefits seen in Colitis, and strongly discourage smoking in anyone, whether or not they have IBD.

For more details, see our information on Smoking and IBD. Although there has been much research, we still do not know exactly what causes Ulcerative Colitis. However major advances have been made over the past few years, particularly in genetics. Ulcerative Colitis is generally categorised according to how much of the large intestine is affected. The diagram shows the three main types: proctitis, left- sided or distal colitis, and total or pancolitis.

In proctitis, only the rectum the lowest part of the large bowel is inflamed. This means that the rest of the colon is unaffected and can still function normally. For many people with proctitis, the main symptom is passing fresh blood, or bloodstained mucus. You may get diarrhoea, or you may have normal stools or even constipation. You may also feel an urgent need to rush to the toilet. Because the inflamed rectum is more sensitive, some people with proctitis often feel that they have an urge to pass a stool, but cannot pass anything as the bowel is actually empty.

This is called tenesmus. In some people, the sigmoid colon the short curving piece of colon nearest the rectum may also be inflamed — a form of Colitis sometimes known as proctosigmoiditis. The symptoms are similar to those of proctitis, although constipation is less likely.

In this type of Colitis, the inflammation involves the distal colon, which includes the rectum and the left side of the colon also known as the descending colon. Symptoms include diarrhoea with blood and mucus, pain on the left side of the abdomen, urgency and tenesmus. Both conditions are thought to be the result of an overactive immune system. Understanding the key differences between them can help you obtain a proper diagnosis. UC only affects the large intestine colon and rectum.

Similar medications are prescribed to treat both conditions. Surgery is also a treatment option. Colitis refers to inflammation of the inner lining of the colon. Colitis causes symptoms such as abdominal pain and cramping, bloating, and diarrhea. An inflamed colon can be caused by several conditions. UC is one possible cause. Other possible causes of colitis include:. To diagnose the cause of colitis, a doctor will order a series of tests. Treatments for the inflammatory disease aim to extend periods of remission and make flare-ups less severe.

For people with severe UC, curative surgery is a treatment option. Removing the entire large intestine as in a total colectomy will end the symptoms of UC. This procedure requires your doctor to create a pouch on the outside of your body where waste can empty.

This pouch can become inflamed and cause side effects. For that reason, some people choose to have only a partial colectomy. In this surgery, your doctor only removes the parts of the colon that are affected by UC. While these surgeries can help ease or end symptoms of UC, they can have adverse effects and possible long-term complications.

Read more about these issues to determine if surgery is an option for you. Some causes of colitis or inflammation in the colon can be contagious, though. That includes inflammation caused by bacteria and viruses. According to one study of IBD in the United States, 1 in 1, children between ages 2 and 17 years old were affected by the condition in UC symptoms in children are similar to symptoms in older individuals.

Children may experience bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramping, and fatigue. Treatments for children are more limited because of possible complications. For example, medicated enemas are rarely used as a treatment method in children. However, children with UC may be prescribed medications that reduce inflammation and prevent immune system attacks on the colon. For some children, surgery may be necessary to manage symptoms.

Check out these tips for parents and children dealing with UC. UC increases your risk of developing colon cancer. The longer you have the disease, the higher your risk of this cancer. Because of this increased risk, your doctor will perform a colonoscopy and check for cancer when you receive your diagnosis. Repeat screenings every 1 to 3 years are recommended thereafter, according to the American Cancer Society.

Regular screenings help lower your risk of colon cancer. Follow-up screenings can detect precancerous cells early.