Ulcerative colitis is a chronic illness that can make life difficult for you. It involves having to stay close to your bathroom which makes leaving the house difficult. There is also discomfort and fatigue. This can affect your work and social life. Also you may find that some family members and friends just don’t understand how you feel. There are a few things that you can do to help manage this. Some diet and lifestyle changes, along with natural remedies will help.
What is ulcerative colitis?
Ulcerative colitis is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It is autoimmune in nature, meaning the body is attacking itself. It causes chronic inflammation of the colon. Usually, you will find it in the lower part of the large intestine. It does, however, affect the entire large intestine.
Symptoms of ulcerative colitis
Colitis can cause a wide variety of symptoms, including fever, fatigue, persistent abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, and weight loss. The most common symptom is bloody diarrhoea. You may also experience abdominal pain, tenesmus (which is the urge to do a poo even though your bowels are already empty) and the feeling you need to go.
This disease alternates between periods of relapses and periods of remission. Some other symptoms can include a raised white blood cell count, skin lesions, arthritis and joint pain, inflammation in your tongue and lips and sometimes in the eye, dehydration and night sweats.
Your symptoms can range from mild to more severe effects and vary depending on the degree of inflammation and which portion of your large intestine is being affected.
Causes of colitis
Your immune system’s natural response to invaders is inflammation. When this protective shield goes into overdrive and becomes chronic, it can lead to an autoimmunity.
Three things happen to cause this. A genetic predisposition to colitis, an environmental trigger like stress or toxins and/or the development of leaky gut syndrome. This is what makes the inflammation increase to become autoimmunity.
If you have certain genes, you could find yourself at risk for developing autoimmune conditions and their associated antibody levels. However, while certain autoimmune diseases can potentially be part of your genetic code, environmental forces and intestinal function still play a big role in deciding if you will be more susceptible to these illnesses. If you don’t have these two modulators, it’s unlikely that you will develop an autoimmunity disease even if it’s part of your genetics.
Other factors that can increase your risk of getting this illness can include your age. Research has shown this illness peaks in your 20’s or 30’s and then again between 50 and 80 years of age. Your race and ethnicity can also be a risk factor. It has been found that the Jewish population has a three times higher risk than non-Jewish populations with this disease. Smoking is another factor. In one study, 2-5 years after smoking stopped the risk of colitis increased and remained elevated for 20 years after. Diet is another factor that can lead to higher risk, Studies have shown links between IBD and cow’s milk protein sensitivity during infancy, as well as higher intake of total fat, animal fat, and polyunsaturated fatty acids just to name a few foods. It is important to take a test to see what is causing your sensitivities and inflammation.
Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis
There are quite a few things you can do to help treat Ulcerative Colitis. Conventional drug therapy involves the use of corticosteroids, amino salicylates, cyclosporine, and certain other medications. However, even though there are medications you can take to manage this illness, surgery apparently is the only treatment the medical profession endorses to cure it. The problem with the surgery is, that it is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and comes with complications. This is why surgery is only used in a few selected cases.
You can though successfully manage this condition through diet and lifestyle. There are many natural remedies which can help to reduce inflammation, balance your immune system, and alleviate the symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis. Contact your naturopath, nutritionist for tests in inflammation and successful diet and supplement assistance specifically catered to your needs. Here at www.stressfreehealthmangement.com we conduct tests to assist you in inflammation and nutrition issues.