Ulcerative Colitis & Crohn's Disease
Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory disease that affects, in the main, the rectum and sometimes the colon (large intestine). It can also cause inflammation in the eyes, skin and joints.
People who have ulcerative colitis develop tiny ulcers on the inside lining of the colon resulting in urgent and bloody diarrhoea, pain and continual tiredness. The condition varies as to how much of the colon is affected; if only the rectum is involed the condition is known as proctitis.
Crohn's disease is also an inflammatory disease that can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract, or just a part of it. Most commonly it affects the small intestine and/or colon. People with the condition develop deep ulcers and scarring to the wall of the intestine, which often occurs in patches, as well as inflammation.
The main symptoms are pain in the abdomen, urgent diarrhoea, general tiredness and loss of weight, but the inflammation seen in Crohn’s can also affect the joints, skin and eyes.
For people who have either ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease symptoms can be unpredictable and can vary over time; the conditions are relapsing, remitting illnesses. Flare-ups are common as are periods of remission or periods of time when symptoms are reduced.
Researchers still do not know what the cause of either condition is but it is believed that genetic factors and environmental triggers are likely to be involved.
Although there is currently no cure for either condition, both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's can be successfully managed. Patients with ulcerative colitis are treated with drugs to control or reduce the inflammation and also medication to suppress the immune system. If medication cannot control the condition then some people have to have their colon removed, a colostomy, which necessitates the need for a stoma, an artificial opening in the abdomen through which the intestines can eliminate waste. Sometimes, instead of a stoma a replacement colon, ileo-anal pouch, can be created by a surgeon.
For patients with Crohn's the management regimen is similar to that of ulcerative colitis, with the addition of antibiotics and also nutritional feeds designed to rest the bowel. Surgery may be required to remove narrowed or damaged parts of the intestine.
