Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a form of a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The "ulcerative" refers to ulcers, which is a discontinuity or break in a membrane or lining, preventing an organ from performing its function. The "col" refers to the colon, otherwise known as the large intestine, and "itis" means inflammation. Overall it means "inflammation in the form of ulcers in the colon".

Symptoms

The main symptom of ulcerative colitis is diarrhoea, often with blood in it. This is because the  colon's function is to absorb water from faeces, and it cannot do this when the lining the covered in ulcers. This causes extreme weight loss and a frequent need to go to the toilet. Other symptoms include vomiting and severe abdominal pain.

Diagnosis

A definite way to determine whether a patient has ulcerative colitis is to look inside the colon at the walls during a colonoscopy, where a tube with a camera and light at the end is put up the patient's anus and up to the colon. The doctor can then see clear evidence for ulcers on a TV monitor of what the camera is filming.

Causes

There is no cure for ulcerative colitis, meaning it is a chronic disease. There is some loose evidence for it running it families, for example my great-grandmother had IBD, but we are unsure of exactly what she had because in those days it was not common to talk about things like that. However, it is not a particular allele, or combination of alleles that directly causes UC. Instead it is more likely that certain genetics make you more susceptible to get it. For this reason it is classed as partially genetic, and partially environmental because certain factors, such as smoking and diet, affects it. You cannot "catch" UC, and is classed an an immune disease, rather than fungal, bacterial or viral.

Treatment

Although UC is chronic, there are many drugs and treatments that can be used to manage the symptoms. Generally it is treated as an autoimmune disease, and can be treated using immuno-suppressants and anti inflammatory medicines. In severe cases where medicine is unable to control the symptoms, either part or all of the colon is removed.

Living with a Chronic Disease- Ulcerative Colitis

Hank Green is one of the "Vlogbrothers" from youtube. Here he shares his experiences and how he deals with living with ulcerative colitis.

In terms of my brothers illness, William (although diagnosed very young) did not have ulcerative colitis for relatively long, meaning he has not had to encounter some of the experiences that Hank talks about. This was also due to the fact that William's case was so severe he barely left the house in the whole time he was ill.

My Brother William

In the Summer of 2009, my younger brother was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, aged 11. In the next 18 months, William tried drug after drug, going through many procedures and many different medicines. After none managed to control his symptoms, in December 2011 he had a colectomy (removal of the colon) at Great Ormand Street Hospital (GOSH). He now lives with an ileostomy bag but has suffered from chronic pain for the last 9 months, for reasons Doctors are still yet to find. This blog will document Will's progress medically, as well as talking about what it is like to live with ulcerative colitis, and an ileostomy bag.