How is ulcerative colitis (UC) treated?

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammation of the colon and/or rectum, so the first course of treatment in mild cases is some type of anti-inflammatory drug. Steroids are the kind with which most people are familiar, but there is actually a wide variety of medications that your doctor can choose from. Sometimes products to fight diarrhea are needed.

Use of medications can put UC into remission 70 percent of the time. However, to truly cure the disorder usually requires some form of surgery. The method your doctor chooses depends on how much of the colon and/or rectum is actually affected, and how extensive the damage is. Sometimes surgery simply requires removing the inflamed area(s), but when the damage is truly severe, there may be the need to replace your colon with an internal or external pouch to collect your body's wastes.