What is Ulcerative Colitis?

Ulcerative colitis is a type of inflammatory bowel disease. This chronic inflammatory disease affects the colon and rectum. In addition to inflammation, the disease can cause sores called ulcers. Some common symptoms of ulcerative colitis include pain in the abdomen, diarrhea, blood in the stool and loss of appetite. Symptoms may come and go and be anywhere from mild to severe and debilitating. Most people develop the disease and are diagnosed by age 30, but anyone can develop ulcerative colitis at any age. While the cause of the disease is not known, certain factors seem to be correlated to a development of the disease including familial history of the disease, certain environmental factors, and overactive immune systems. At this time, there is no cure for the disease, but treatment may help with symptom management.

What are Common Symptoms of Ulceration Colitis

Symptoms include:

• Abdominal pain
• Blood in the stool
• Diarrhea, which may be sudden and urgent
• Weight loss
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Nausea
• Joint pain
• Abdominal cramping

If you experience one or more of the following symptoms for several days, call and schedule an appointment with one of our highly trained gastroenterologist (GI) specialists at BASS Medical Group.  Please visit our website to see what specialists is near you.