Colitis Ulcerosa

Colitis is a digestive problem and can be acute or chronic. Depending on the form of this disease it can be treated with antibiotics and in severe cases which can be life threatening surgery must be performed.

When a horse has the same problem that is known as “Colic” and is not handled immediately can result in death within 24 hours.

This bacterium that lives in our intestines is there to keep a normal balance in our digestive systems. It's when this "Normal Balance" gets out of control that the problems start. Toxins are released which attack the lining of the intestines and the new strain is formed called “Clostridium difficile” or c.diff for short.

A person that is healthy has normal bacterium which we all need and is classified as good bacteria. This gets to work in our digestive systems breaking down the food we have just eaten to make the fuel we need to live.

But there is also the bad or harmful bacteria c.diff and this type can multiply in the bowels or intestines and is the offender called pseudo membranous Colitis this being an infection of the large intestine.

A person with diarrhea will have normal bouts that are watery and the need to go to the toilet about three times a day. But with medication one feels better in a few days. Then there is the more serious form which ranges from diarrhea (where one needs to go many times in the day) to a life threatening inflammation of the colon.

The people that are most at risk are those over 65 years of age. Older people in hospitals or in long term medical facilities. It can also occur after antibiotics which tend to upset the normal workings of the intestines.

Surveys in resent years shows that “Clostridium difficile Colitis" is becoming more frequent and harder to handle. Alone in the USA tens of thousands of people contract this bacterium form each year. It is said to be getting more serious as young people not taking antibiotics and not hospitalized have started to contract c.diff.

This bacteria can be found everywhere throughout the environment, in water, in the earth (soil), and in the air. It is also found in human and animal faeces.

Clostridium difficile can be passed on from faeces by people not washing their hands properly after a visit to the toilet. Toilets are not the only place where this bacterium hangs out. It can be found in public phone booths, door knobs, hand rails, buses, trams, trains in fact any place where there are masses of people. Think about the market place and all those people handling the fruit and veg to see it it is ripe enough. You can bet there are a lot of people that bite straight into an apple without washing it. How many people don't wash their hand after they've been shopping??

Symptoms.

Watery diarrhoea three or more times a day over a period of two or more days, with mild abdominal, cramping, and tenderness in the lower part of the torso.

In more severe cases of diarrhea, C.diff is formed and can cause colitis. Signs and symptoms include watery diarrhea 10 – 15 times a day, cramping and severe pain, fever, blood or pus in the stool gang, nausea, dehydration, eating problems or weight loss.

Treatment

Mild cases can be treated with Antibiotics.

More severe cases where the immune system has been effected need immune modulators or may even need to be hospitalized and even a life saving operation.

Colitis is not a thing to play about with and must be taken seriously. Anything to do with Gastrointestinal should involve your family doctor or better still a specialist in these matters.

One easy way to help contol this bacterial problem is Cleanliness. "WASH YOUR HANDS"

© Copyright J. S. White. February 2012 (Ghaelach)