About Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory disease of the large intestine which is also called colon. The lining of large intestine become inflamed and develops tiny ulcers. Ulcerative colitis only affects the lining of colon whereas crohn's disease can affect any part of gastrointestinal wall.

According to Ayurveda, Ulcerative colitis is a disease of pitta dosha with the vary degree of vata involvement. The excessive intake of pitta aahar and regimens initially effects the rakhta and mamsa dahtu (fatty tissues). Vata dosha in the large intestine also aggravates and affects the pitta and kapha dosha causes inflammation, mucous accumulation and edema.

What are the different types of Ulcerative Colitis and their symptoms?

• Ulcerative Procititis: Bowel inflammation is limited to the rectum .It affects the small area. It accounts nearly 30% of all cases. It is associated with fewer complications.
• Proctosigmiditis: It affects the recto- sigmoid colon which adjacent to the rectum. Symptoms include bloody diarrhea, cramps and always urge to pass the stool.
• Left sided colitis: It involves the descending colon, which runs along the left side, Symptoms include loss of appetite, diarrhea, weight loss and severe pain in the left side of abdomen and bleeding.
• Pan-ulcerative colitis: It effects whole colon. Symptoms include diarrhea, several abdominal pain and extensive weight loss. It is associated with some serious complications.

What are the causes of Ulcerative colitis?

The exact cause of ulcerative colitis is not known. Causes may include:

• Immune system malfunction: When immune system tries to fight off on the virus or micro-organism an abnormal immune response cause the immune system to attack the digestive tract, too.
• Hereditary: People who have this disease in family, they are at high risk.
• Stress and Improper Diet: These two factors do not cause ulcerative colitis, these may aggravates the disease.

What are the Risk factors?

• Age: It can occurs at any age usually it can occur before 30 years or sometimes it does not occur after 60 years age.
• Race: If you are white, then you are at high risk of this disease. That's why it is more in U.S, England and northern Europe is rarely seen in Asia and South America.

What are the Sign and Symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis?

• Abdominal pain and cramping.
• Diarrhea with bleeding.
• Loss of appetite.
• Fever.
• Weight loss.
• Increases abdominal sound.
• Malnutrition.
• Mucous in the stool.
• Sharp rectal pain.

What are the possible complication of ulcerative colitis?

• Colon Cancer: The chances of this complication arise after eight or ten years of ulcerative colitis.
• Inflammation of joints (Arthritis).
• Ankylosing Spondylitis (It affects the vertebral joints)
• Anemia (Due to blood loss).
• Erythema nodosum (painful, red skin nodules).
• Sclerosing Cholangitis (Due to recurrent inflammation and infection of bile duct).
• Liver disorder (Liver cirrhosis).
• Jaundice (Yellowing of skin).
• Inflammation of eyes (Uveitis).

How to diagnose the ulcerative colitis?

• A complete blood count (anemia, platelet count).
• Renal function test (pre-renal failure)
• Liver function test (primary sclerosing cholangitis).
• Electrolytes studies (hypokalemia, hypomagnesium).
• C-reactive protein can be measured (to find the elevation, another indication of inflammation).
• Sigmoidoscopy.