UC mainly affects people aged 20-25. Colitis occurs mainly in the
colon and rectum, whereas Crohn's can be anywhere from your mouth to
your anus. Like Crohn's, it causes inflamation of the bowel lining.
This can lead to ulceration. People with colitis suffer from
diorrhoea, blood and mucous in their faeces , nausea and fever. They
can get complications such as anaemia from blood loss in their
stools, and toxins from the gut can enter their bloodstream.

There is a belief that like Crohn's, UC can be an auto-immune
disorder. In both cases, our tummies seem to attack ourselves. It's
treated with steroids to reduce the inflammation, and also with
mesalazine (eg Pentasa) or sulphursalazine to combat the symptoms
also.

on September 21 2002 01:00:32 ·