What is colitis and ulcerative colitis, what are the signs and symptoms and how does it differ from Crohn’s disease?
It can develop at any age, but is usually diagnosed in people from 15 to 25 years old
COLITIS is a long-term condition which affects about one in every 420 people in the UK.
It can develop at any age, but is usually diagnosed in people from 15 to 25 years old.
What is colitis and what are the symptoms?
Colitis is a condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed.
The colon is the large intestine, or bowel, and the rectum is the end of the bowel where stools are stored. Ulcers can develop on the colon's lining and bleed and produce pus.
Ulcerative colitis is a form of colitis that is caused by autoimmune inflammation (the body attacking itself), whereas colitis can be caused by a number of factors including infection.
Ulcerative colitis is similar to another condition which causes inflammation of the gut - Crohn's disease.
Symptoms can often be very mild for weeks or months but flare ups with extreme symptoms can cause a lot of pain and trouble for sufferers.
Flare ups can include painful and swollen joints, mouth ulcers, areas of painful, red and swollen skin and irritated and red eyes.
In addition to this people will often need to empty their bowels six or more times a day and have shortness of breath, a fast or irregular heartbeat, high temperature and blood in stools.
Stress can be a factor as can a gut infection.
What causes ulcerative colitis and how is it treated?
It is thought to be an autoimmune condition, which means the immune system wrongly tries to attack healthy tissue.
The theory generally thought to be correct is that the immune system mistake 'good' bacteria inside the colon as a threat and attacks, causing the colon to become inflamed.
It is unknown why the immune system can behave in this way, but it is thought to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Medication can be taken to relieve symptoms and prevent them from returning.
These include aminosalicylates, corticosteroids and immunosuppressants.
An option for some people is to have colon removal surgery.
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Who can be affected by colitis and how does it differ from Crohn's disease?
It is thought that about one in every 420 people in the UK has ulcerative colitis.
It is more common in people of European descent, especially those descended from Ashkenazi Jewish communities and black people.
The condition is rarer in people from Asian background, although the reasons for this are unclear.
The different between ulcerative colitis and Crohn's is that colitis is limited to the colon - while Crohn's disease can occur anywhere between the mouth and the anus.
In Crohn's disease, there are healthy parts of the intestine mixed in between inflamed areas, on the other hand, ulcerative colitis, is continuous inflammation of the colon.
Former Chelsea midfielder Ray Wilkins, who died aged 61 after suffering a heart attack, battled poor health including ulcerative colitis.