Colitis or Ulcerative Colitis is a condition that occurs when the lining of the large intestine (colon) in the body gets inflamed. There is no specific age at which this disease occurs; hence it can happen at any point of time in a person's life. Usually, when a person suffers from Colitis, it is either the entire colon or only the rectum that gets affected. Sometimes, it can be somewhere between the two as well. Depending on how much portion of the colon has been affected, the severity of the condition is judged. The disease has a tendency to start small from the rectum or somewhere at the lower end of the large intestine and then spread to the whole of it.
Timely care and medication is advised for this disease as the condition is very painful. Since the disease spreads from a small area to a large one, medication at the right time can help prevent the situation from being worse. However, there are a lot of times when it becomes slightly late in giving the medication because the disease tends to spread very fast, and at a rapid rate.
Common conditions of the disease include rectal bleeding, ulcers and excessive inflammation on the lining of the colon, extreme abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Colitis can turn out to be dangerous and life-threatening and can lead to a lot of complications for the health and for the body.
Though the disease is rare and affects only one among some 10,000 people, it has several causes. These include abnormal or dysfunctional activity of the immune system in the intestines. Smoking and general enhanced activity in the body against intestinal bacterial antigens can also lead to colitis. Various infections and other exposure to different environments that are unsafe along with nutritional deficiency factors also trigger the disease. Unfortunately for some, they get affected by this disease due to a family history or some other genetic causes.
Some of the symptoms of colitis that one should watch out for in an early stage of the disease include fatigue, fever, sweating at night, unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite and nausea. There is also excessive loss of body fluids and nutrients and the person suffers from extreme abdominal pain and discomfort.
As a natural treatment as well as a precautionary step, doctors and health experts advise everyone to be careful with their diets and meals. The reason why doctors keep on emphasising on the importance of good food and proper, healthy and balanced meals is because this is one way with which you can avoid almost every disease. Good food, living in clean and germ-free hygienic environments and doing regular exercising is the key to a happy and healthy living. For those who suffer from colitis, it is advised that they add more fibers to their diet and reduce the consumption of sugary and fatty substances. Including aloe vera in the diet helps as it reduces the inflammation. Chamomile and Boswellia are also recommended.
