Ulcerative colitis is a type of inflammatory bowel disease. It can cause sores, called ulcers, in the lining of the rectum and colon. Inflammation in the colon also causes the colon to empty frequently, causing diarrhea.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of ulcerative colitis are abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include:

• anemia
• fatigue
• weight loss
• loss of appetite
• rectal bleeding
• loss of body fluids and nutrients
• skin lesions
• joint pain
• growth failure (specifically in children)

About half of the people diagnosed with ulcerative colitis have mild symptoms.
Treatment for ulcerative colitis depends on the severity of the disease. Drug therapy is the most common treatment, but according to the NIH, about 25 to 40 percent of ulcerative colitis patients must eventually have surgery because of massive bleeding, severe illness, rupture of the colon, or risk of cancer.