What is ulcerative colitis?
Ulcerative colitis is a type of inflammatory bowel disease.
People with ulcerative colitis have chronic inflammation in the large bowel. The inflammation affects the rectum and might also affect other parts of the large bowel.
Untreated ulcerative colitis might lead to bowel damage, which might also lead to further complications.
Ulcerative colitis can develop at any age.
Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are both types of inflammatory bowel disease, but they affect the bowel in different ways. Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation in the large bowel, mostly on the surface lining of the bowel. Crohn’s disease can cause inflammation in any part of the digestive tract from the mouth to the anus, and it can affect deeper layers of the bowel wall.
Ulcerative colitis symptoms and signs
Ulcerative colitis symptoms vary among people. But it usually causes a range of digestive symptoms including:
- diarrhoea
- mucus in poo
- blood in poo
- abdominal pain and cramping
- nausea and vomiting
- bloating
- urgency (a frequent feeling of needing to rush to open the bowels).
It can also cause general health and wellbeing signs and symptoms, like:
Ulcerative colitis symptoms might flare up for a while and then go away again.
Ulcerative colitis is different from irritable bowel syndrome, although these conditions can have similar symptoms. Ulcerative colitis is a type of inflammatory bowel disease, but irritable bowel syndrome isn’t. And untreated ulcerative colitis might cause bowel damage, but irritable bowel syndrome doesn’t.
Medical help for children and teenagers with ulcerative colitis symptoms
See your GP if your child has ulcerative colitis symptoms or signs, especially if the signs and symptoms haven’t gone away after a week.
If your GP thinks your child’s symptoms might be caused by ulcerative colitis, the GP might order blood tests and poo tests. They’ll also refer your child to a gastroenterologist for further assessment and diagnosis.
Ulcerative colitis diagnosis
In addition to blood tests and poo tests, ulcerative colitis diagnosis involves several procedures and scans.
The gastroenterologist will probably do an endoscopy. In an endoscopy, your gastroenterologist inserts a flexible tube with a camera into your child’s digestive tract from the anus. The aim is to look for inflammation and ulcers and take small tissue samples. The procedure is done under general anaesthetic.
Your doctor might also order an abdominal X-ray, abdominal ultrasound, a CT scan or an MRI scan.
Ulcerative colitis treatment for children and teenagers
Ulcerative colitis treatment aims to:
- relieve symptoms
- minimise blood loss from the digestive tract
- reduce and control the inflammation on the lining of the large bowel
- limit the number of flare-ups and how long they last
- reduce the effect of the condition on school, sport, hobbies and social activities
- support your child’s emotional wellbeing.
If your child has ulcerative colitis, they’ll get an individualised treatment plan. This is because treatment depends on:
- how much of your child’s bowel is affected
- how severe the inflammation is
- how old your child is
- whether your child has any other medical conditions.
Your child’s treatment is likely to include:
- medicines to reduce inflammation, diarrhoea and pain, which are usually very effective
- nutritional supplements to help with growth and development.
Rarely, people with ulcerative colitis might need surgery to remove the large bowel. This might happen if medicine doesn’t work and the bowel is severely affected, damaged or causing complications. Your doctor will talk about this with you and your child if it’s necessary.
How to manage ulcerative colitis symptoms and flare-ups in children and teenagers
Ulcerative colitis can usually be managed quite well, although it’s a lifelong condition.
If your child’s ulcerative colitis is well managed, they’re likely to have only a few symptoms from time to time. But sometimes the symptoms can flare up and make life uncomfortable.
There are things your child can do to manage ulcerative colitis symptoms and prevent flare-ups:
- Eat a well-balanced, healthy diet, and limit processed foods like cakes, biscuits, chips and fried foods.
- Avoid foods that make them feel sick or worsen their symptoms.
- Avoid anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen.
- Take their medicines as prescribed.
- Go to all their appointments with the gastroenterologist, and discuss new symptoms and how they’ve been managing them.
There are also things you can do to make it easier for your child to manage the symptoms of ulcerative colitis at school. For example, sometimes your child might experience diarrhoea at school. It’s a good idea to let school staff know about this, so they can make sure your child can reach the toilet quickly and easily throughout the day.
It might also be handy for your child to keep some emergency clothes, wipes and deodorant in their bag in case they accidentally soil themselves.
Symptoms of ulcerative colitis might get worse when your child is stressed and anxious – for example, during exams or while on a long travelling trip. Your child might need extra bathroom breaks during these times.
Ulcerative colitis causes
We don’t know exactly what causes ulcerative colitis, but it’s likely to involve genetic and environmental factors.