What are the treatment options for ulcerative colitis? How do medications, surgical procedures, and alternative therapies help manage this chronic condition? Discover the comprehensive approach to caring for ulcerative colitis.

Medication: The First Line of Defense

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory condition that primarily affects the colon and rectum. The primary goal of treatment is to reduce the inflammation, which can lead to remission of the disease. The two main treatment options are medication and surgery.

Approximately 70% of patients respond well to medication, which can be used to both induce and maintain remission. The most common medication options are anti-inflammatory drugs, which can be taken orally or applied topically to the affected areas. These drugs help reduce the inflammation in the colon and rectum.

In addition to anti-inflammatory medications, other treatment options include immunosuppressive drugs and biologics. Immunosuppressive medications work by slowing down the immune system, which helps prevent the immune response that leads to inflammation. Biologics, on the other hand, target specific proteins in the immune system that contribute to inflammation.

Tailoring Treatment to Individual Needs

At Johns Hopkins, the treatment plan for ulcerative colitis is highly individualized. Doctors will carefully assess the severity of the condition and tailor the medication regimen accordingly. The specific medication prescribed will depend on the individual’s needs and may be adjusted as the condition changes over time.

When Medication Fails: Surgical Options

If a patient does not respond well to medication or develops complications from ulcerative colitis, surgery may be recommended as a treatment option. The most common surgical procedure is a colectomy, which involves the removal of part or all of the colon.

Two common surgical procedures for ulcerative colitis are:

1. Total proctocolectomy with Brooke ileostomy: Removal of the entire colon and rectum, with the creation of an ileostomy to allow waste to be collected in a bag outside the body.
2. Restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis: Removal of the entire colon and most or all of the rectum, with the creation of a new rectum using the small bowel.

These surgical procedures can be performed laparoscopically, which can ease recovery and reduce scarring.

Combination Therapy: Maximizing Effectiveness

In some cases, a healthcare provider may recommend a combination therapy approach, where an additional therapy is added to the initial treatment to increase its effectiveness. This could involve combining an immunomodulator with a biologic, for example.

While combination therapy can improve the effectiveness of IBD treatment, it may also carry an increased risk of side effects and toxicity. Your healthcare provider will carefully weigh the risks and benefits to determine the most appropriate treatment plan for your individual needs.

Clinical Trials: Exploring Innovative Treatments

Many people with ulcerative colitis are unaware that participating in a clinical trial is an option for their treatment. Clinical trials provide an opportunity to access new and potentially more effective therapies that are not yet available on the market.

Through clinical trials, researchers are constantly working to improve existing treatments and develop new ones. Participating in a clinical trial can give patients access to these cutting-edge therapies and contribute to the advancement of ulcerative colitis treatment.

Diet and Nutrition: Complementary Approaches

In addition to medication and surgical interventions, changes in diet and nutrition can also play a role in managing ulcerative colitis. While there is no one-size-fits-all dietary approach, some patients may find that adjusting their intake of certain foods can help alleviate symptoms and reduce inflammation.

It’s important to work closely with a healthcare provider or registered dietitian to develop a personalized nutrition plan that takes into account the individual’s specific needs and preferences.

Maintaining Remission and Quality of Life

With proper treatment, many patients with ulcerative colitis can achieve and maintain periods of remission, where their symptoms are well-controlled. By working closely with their healthcare team, patients can develop a comprehensive treatment plan that addresses their individual needs and helps them lead a full and rewarding life.

Remember, while there is no known cure for ulcerative colitis, the combination of medication, surgical procedures, dietary modifications, and other complementary therapies can be highly effective in managing this chronic condition.

Ulcerative Colitis Treatment | Johns Hopkins Medicine

Ulcerative Colitis Treatment | Johns Hopkins Medicine

Ulcerative Colitis Treatment

The goal in treating ulcerative colitis is to reduce the inflammation, hopefully leading to remission. The two leading treatment options are medication and surgery.

Approximately 70 percent of patients respond well to medication and go into remission. For those who did not respond well to medication, surgery is an option.

Treatment options for Ulcerative Colitis include:

Ulcerative Colitis Treatment: Medication

The most common medication option is anti-inflammatory drugs. These can be used orally or topically to reduce inflammation of the colon and rectum.

Treating ulcerative colitis is a highly individualized process. At Johns Hopkins, we tailor your treatment to your specific needs and alter the medication as necessary. Your specific medication regimen will depend largely on the severity of your condition.

Other medications include:

• Immunosuppressive medications: These drugs slow your immune system to stop the immune response that is causing the colon and rectum to swell.

• Biologics: Like immunosuppressive medications, biologics target the immune system, but biologics act on specific immune system proteins that encourage inflammation.

Ulcerative Colitis Treatment: Surgery

If you did not respond to a medication regimen or you developed complications of colitis, you may be a candidate for surgery to treat ulcerative colitis.

Colectomy (removing part or the entire colon) may be used in children with ulcerative colitis who experienced growth retardation. In all patients, elective colectomy can be a cure for ulcerative colitis. Almost always, the procedure is a total colectomy, meaning the entire colon is removed.

Surgical procedures include:

• Total proctocolectomy with Brooke ileostomy. Removal of your entire colon and rectum. Your doctor will perform an ileostomy, which brings out your small intestine through the abdominal wall. Waste collects in an ileostomy bag. An ileostomy can be temporary or permanent.

• Restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis. Removal of the entire colon and most of or the entire rectum. A new rectum is created from the small bowel.This procedure can be performed laparoscopically to ease recovery and reduce scarring.

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Ulcerative Colitis Treatment Options | Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation

The primary goal in treating ulcerative colitis is to help patients regulate their immune system better. While there is no known cure for ulcerative colitis and flare ups may recur, a combination of treatment options can help you stay in control of your disease and lead a full and rewarding life.

Treatment for ulcerative colitis is multifaceted and includes the use of medication, clinical trials, alterations in diet and nutrition, and sometimes surgical procedures to repair or remove affected portions of your GI tract.

Medication

Medication for ulcerative colitis can suppress the inflammation of the colon and allow for tissues to heal. Symptoms including diarrhea, bleeding, and abdominal pain can also be reduced and controlled with effective medication.

In addition to controlling and suppressing symptoms (inducing remission), medication can also be used to decrease the frequency of symptom flare ups (maintaining remission). With proper treatment over time, periods of remission can be extended and periods of symptom flare ups can be reduced. Several types of medication are being used to treat ulcerative colitis today.

Combination Therapy

In some circumstances, a health care provider may recommend adding an additional therapy that will work in combination with the initial therapy to increase its effectiveness.  For example, combination therapy could include the addition of a biologic to an immunomodulator. As with all therapy, there are risks and benefits of combination therapy. Combining therapies can increase the effectiveness of IBD treatment, but there may also be an increased risk of additional side effects and toxicity. Your healthcare provider will identify the treatment option that is most effective for your individual health care needs.

Clinical Trials

Many people are unaware that a clinical trial is available as an option for treating their IBD. Through clinical trials, researchers find new ways to improve treatments and quality of life. Clinical trials are one of the final stages of a long and careful research process and it is only through clinical trials that new and improved treatment options for patients will become available. Visit the Clinical Trials Community to learn more about clinical trials and find a trial that may be right for you.

Diet & Nutrition

While ulcerative colitis is not caused by the foods you eat, you may find that once you have the disease, particular foods can aggravate the symptoms. It’s important to maintain a healthy and soothing diet that helps reduce your symptoms, replace lost nutrients, and promote healing.

For people diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, it is essential to maintain good nutrition because the disease often reduces your appetite while increases your body’s energy needs. Additionally, common symptoms like diarrhea can reduce your body’s ability to absorb protein, fat, carbohydrates, as well as water, vitamins, and minerals.

Many people with ulcerative colitis find that soft, bland foods cause less discomfort than spicy or high-fiber foods. While your diet can remain flexible and should include a variety of foods from all food groups, your doctor will likely recommend restricting your intake of dairy foods if you are found to be lactose-intolerant.

Surgery

In one-quarter to one-third of patients with ulcerative colitis, medical therapy is not completely successful or complications arise. Under these circumstances, surgery may be considered. This operation involves the removal of the colon (colectomy).

Depending on a number of factors, including the extent of the disease and the patient’s age and overall health, one of two surgical approaches may be recommended. The first involves the removal of the entire colon and rectum, with the creation of an ileostomy or external stoma (an opening on the abdomen through which wastes are emptied into a pouch, which is attached to the skin with adhesive).

Today, many people are able to take advantage of new surgical techniques, which have been developed to offer another option. This procedure also calls for removal of the colon, but it avoids an ileostomy. By creating an internal pouch from the small bowel and attaching it to the anal sphincter muscle, the surgeon can preserve bowel integrity and eliminate the need for the patient to wear an external ostomy appliance.

Making Informed Decisions

If you’re confused about all the medications and therapies out there, you are not alone. IBD is extremely complex, and it is important to review the risks and benefits of all treatment options with your doctor. Learn more about available tools and resources that can help you make informed decisions about your care.

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Gastroenterocolitis: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment | doc.ua

A disease in which inflammatory processes take place simultaneously in the stomach and in the small and large intestines is called gastroenterocolitis.

Attention!

Here you can choose a doctor who treats Gastroenterocolitis If you are not sure about the diagnosis, make an appointment with a general practitioner or general practitioner to clarify the diagnosis.

Species

This disease can occur in different forms. There are five types of gastroenterocolitis depending on the presence of inflammation:

• hemorrhagic;
• catarrhal;
• fibrinous;
• ulcerative;
• phlegmonous.

Depending on the course of the disease itself, gastroenterocolitis can be divided into chronic, acute and subacute. The acute form of the disease can occur as a result of complications after influenza, after food poisoning, after suffering a number of infectious diseases (infectious gastroenterocolitis), as a result of an allergic reaction of the body. The infection can enter the intestines in two ways: through the mouth or through the blood. Chronic gastroenterocolitis develops as a result of damage to the organs of the digestive tract. The disease recurs and may not appear for many years.

Causes

A disease occurs as a result of an infection in the body, as a result of smoking or drinking alcohol. The cause of gastroenterocolitis can also be spoiled foods, which may contain pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms. The main causative agents of the disease can be considered infections: staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, salmonella and other viruses.

Symptoms

The incubation period of gastroenterocolitis is very short. The presence of symptoms of gastroenterocolitis can make itself felt in a couple of hours.

Signs of gastroenterocolitis:

• flatulence;
• rumbling in the abdomen;
• weakness;
• pain in the abdomen;
• decreased appetite;
• bitterness in the mouth;
• vomiting;
• nausea;
• diarrhea with blood or mucus;
• skin becomes pale;
• body temperature rises;
• metabolism is disturbed;
• dramatic weight loss.

It often happens that the disease affects the nearby digestive organs. Acute gastroenterocolitis usually begins suddenly. The disease is accompanied by the presence of symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, body temperature rises, general malaise of the body, dizziness, chills, and fainting may even be present. Symptoms appear a couple of hours after the body is damaged by toxins, or a few days after that.

Diagnosis

The key to timely and correct treatment of a disease is its diagnosis with an accurate definition of the form and type of the disease. To correctly establish the diagnosis, the doctor must study the patient’s medical history, clarify what foods he has been eating lately. If the product itself can cause any suspicion, then it is sent for a special analysis to clarify the presence of pathogenic bacteria in it.

Treatment

Gastroenterocolitis is treated in an inpatient setting. The patient needs to be hospitalized. The patient is given antimicrobial, detoxification and dehydration procedures. Wash the stomach and prescribe antibiotics, antispasmodics and vitamins. Be sure to adhere to a strict diet with gastroenterocolitis, this has a beneficial effect both on the effectiveness of treatment and on the speedy recovery of the patient. To begin with, in order to remove all toxins from the body, only drinking in large quantities is prescribed.

After that, the patient can already be given foods, but always those that would not irritate the intestines. Therefore, the diet is dominated by food with a high protein content. All irritants are removed from the patient’s diet, such as smoked foods, fried foods, canned food, black bread, coarse varieties of vegetables and meat, fresh milk. To begin with, it is better to give the patient cereal decoctions, while he should use them fractionally (five or six times a day). Later, cottage cheese, meat broth, kefir, cheese, boiled fish can also be included in the patient’s diet. Compote and crackers can be given in small quantities.

Gastroenterocolitis is as common in children as it is in adults. Their immune system is not yet fully developed and in many ways it cannot protect the body from the negative effects of toxins that contribute to the development of this disease. If there are symptoms of gastroenterocolitis in a child, then you should immediately call a doctor. He will examine the baby and prescribe the appropriate treatment. If a child has acute gastroenterocolitis, then he needs the first days of the development of the disease to provide the stomach with peace as much as possible. It is recommended these days to give the child a warm drink in large quantities. Then, a little bit, you can add jelly and jelly to the diet, and then other food products.

Food such as vegetables, mushrooms, snacks, confectionery and sweets, peas, beans, milk should not be consumed in any case. If you adhere to the prescribed diet and treatment, then after a week the child will feel better and he will recover, then you can safely transfer him to a normal diet.

Gastroenteritis: causes, symptoms, treatment, prevention

Gastroenteritis is a disease of the gastrointestinal tract, which is expressed by inflammatory processes in the intestines and stomach. Gastroenteritis can be both acute and chronic.

Acute gastroenteritis

Acute gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach or intestines, often caused by improper diet or ingestion of various types of viruses and infectious agents into the intestinal tract.

Excessive overeating or frequent dry food, as well as an irregular diet, can also cause inflammation of the stomach. The symptoms of the disease manifest themselves sharply, while pain is in the nature of contractions. The main symptoms of acute gastroenteritis are severe pain in the abdomen or in the navel area, nausea, vomiting, general weakness of the whole body, palpitations, pallor of the skin, loss of appetite, feeling of dizziness.

In severe cases, the patient may experience fainting. In acute gastroenteritis, a change in stool is observed – the discharge becomes similar to mucus. With the manifestation of the disease, another visual symptom is the sharpening of facial features. If the first symptom of acute gastroenteritis occurs, the patient must be given first aid – rinse the stomach with warm water with the addition of potassium permanganate or with the addition of soda. After gastric lavage, it is necessary to consult a doctor and conduct a comprehensive examination of the gastrointestinal tract and identify the causative agent of gastroenteritis.

Causes of gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis is divided into several types depending on what became the causative agent of the disease. Bacterial gastroenteritis is provoked by intestinal pathogens, bacteria, salmonella or staphylococci, which enter the esophagus with poor-quality food or with weakened immunity. Viral gastroenteritis is caused by rotavirus, an intestinal viral bacterium.

Rotavirus exposure is caused by the problem of dirty hands, poor hygiene before and during meals, poor quality, unwashed food, poorly prepared food, or eating raw food such as seafood. Chronic gastroenteritis mainly appears as a consequence of untreated acute gastroenteritis, or on the background of oncological diseases. Gastroenteritis can also be attributed to “occupational” diseases.

Symptoms of gastroenteritis

The main symptoms of gastroenteritis are nausea, vomiting and changes in the stool, in more severe cases of inflammation, the stool may be accompanied by bloody discharge. Quite often, the patient has a fever, severe headaches, pain in the abdomen, especially in the navel. When a viral gastroenteritis occurs, the patient has a strong increase in body temperature. Pain in the abdomen is accompanied by its strong swelling.

The main symptoms of gastroenteritis manifest themselves within a day or two after infection. If the patient has severe dizziness and deep fainting, you should immediately seek help from a doctor, as such symptoms indicate the neglect of the disease and the inability of the body to resist the disease. In especially severe cases, there are convulsions in the body.

Gastroenteritis in children

Gastroenteritis in children is a common disease, but in severe and advanced cases it can cause death. Gastroenteritis in children can be as a result of dysbacteriosis, influenza, or rotavirus entering the body. Symptoms of gastroenteritis in children are nausea when eating, bloating, colic, sleep disturbance, fever, diarrhea. When the first signs of gastroenteritis occur in a child, it is necessary to take measures to prevent dehydration of the body – give as much water to drink as possible.

If vomiting does not stop within 24 hours after the discovery of the disease, consult a doctor immediately. If gastroenteritis is detected, the child must follow a diet to normalize the work of the stomach. It includes unsweetened vegetable or fruit purees, baked apples, boiled lean meats, lean soups, and fish. This diet is observed for a week, after which you can return to your usual diet. When treating gastroenteritis in children, it is necessary to exclude the use of dairy products for two weeks.

Treatment of gastroenteritis

When the first signs of the disease appear, the patient should refrain from eating for several hours to normalize bowel function. Drink as much liquid as possible – water or light juices without pulp. After the feeling of nausea disappears, you can eat some boiled rice, crackers or a banana. In the treatment of gastroenteritis, antibiotics are not taken. In the presence of severe pain, it is necessary to do a gastric lavage with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or soda.

Diet for gastroenteritis includes lean boiled fish and meat, lean soups, cereals, vegetables, and as much liquid as possible – water, juices. The patient is forbidden to consume dairy products, fruits. The diet must be followed for 3-4 days, after which it is necessary to return to the previous diet.

Within three days (June 3-5, 2015) 7 townspeople with a diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis turned to the admissions department of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug “Gubkinskaya City Hospital”, 6 more patients were delivered by the ambulance department; of them: 1 – was hospitalized in the intensive care unit and anesthesiology, 7 – in the infectious diseases department in a state of moderate severity, the rest – refused hospitalization.