What most people prefer not to think about at all is a central factor in the lives of ulcerative colitis patients: bowel activity. This is restricted by a chronic inflammatory process, which leads to numerous unpleasant, sometimes dangerous symptoms. Like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis is classified as a chronic inflammatory bowel disease.
Colitis is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease
Both syndromes manifest with similar symptoms, but differ in which bowel segments and tissue layers are affected, as well as in their prognosis. For every 100,000 inhabitants, about 10 people in Germany develop one of the two diseases each year. People in the third and seventh decades of life are predominantly affected. Although the chronic inflammatory bowel diseases occur worldwide, they are more common in the western industrialized nations.
An adapted diet in ulcerative colitis is important for the course and life with this chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Ulcerative colitis: symptmoe and symptoms.
Ulcerative colitis (ulcerative colitis) is characterized by an episodic or constant inflammatory process of the mucous membrane of the large intestine (colitis) that usually begins in the rectum and gradually spreads to the entire colon in up to 20 percent of affected individuals. The remaining parts of the gastrointestinal tract are not affected – in contrast to Crohn’s disease. The inflammatory changes, abscesses, bleeding and ulcers (ulcers) are confined to the mucosal surface, which changes over time due to the constant irritation and thus can no longer perform its function properly.
Ulcerative colitis: causes and triggers.
The causes are still not well understood. It is thought that disorders of the immune system lead to pathological interactions with the intestinal mucosa and thus to the inflammatory stimuli. The familial accumulation suggests a hereditary component. Infections are also discussed as triggers. While the risk of Crohn’s disease is increased by smoking; ulcerative colitis occurs less frequently in smokers.
