Colon inflammation: symptoms and medication for colitis

Pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract are the most commonly diagnosed dysfunctions of the human body. Inflammatory processes of the digestive system can be either bacterial, viral or fungal, or non-infectious. In 70% of cases, the large intestine is affected by this kind of violation, since it is this section ensures the excretion of waste products and communicates directly with the external environment through anal opening. Inflammatory lesions of the colon are called colitis.

Attention! Colitis comes from the Greek word "kolon" - "large intestine" and "itis" - inflammation. Under this term, various pathologies of the work of the large intestine of inflammatory genesis are combined.

Colitis occurs as a result of damage to certain parts of the digestive tract as a result of the development of an infectious process, tissue ischemia, or drug poisoning. Such a pathology is characterized by a number of specific symptoms, including severe pain syndrome, defecation disorder and general disruption of the functioning of the intestine.

To diagnose this dysfunction, the patient is prescribed a number of laboratory and instrumental studies that accurately determine the etiology of the disease and its type. Identification of the factors that provoked the spread of the inflammatory process makes it possible a specialist to prescribe the necessary therapy: drug treatment, physiotherapy, a certain regimen nutrition.

Features of pathology

The development of colitis is based on a progressive inflammatory process. Gastroenterologists distinguish between two types of this disease:

1. Spicy. It is characterized by intense pain syndrome, severe symptoms of dyspepsia: flatulence, constant nausea and urge to vomit, the appearance of bloody and mucous inclusions in the feces, tenesmus.
2. Chronic. It manifests itself as recurrent relapses and leads to serious dysfunctions of the digestive system, which are difficult to treat.

Attention! Colitis, taking a chronic form of the course, can lead to the development of various complications from various organs of the gastrointestinal tract. Most often, patients are diagnosed with ulcerative or destructive-degenerative processes of the mucous membrane and submucosa of the colon, internal bleeding, various, including malignant, neoplasms.

Acute colitis

Acute colitis is a degenerative disorder in which the mucous membranes of the large intestine become inflamed and lose their function. This violation is detected in most cases in people 17-40 and 55-70 years old. High morbidity in individuals of these age groups is due to frequent contact with various infectious agents, as well as weakness digestive system due to non-compliance with the principles of rational nutrition and regular intake of medications that aggressively affect the mucous membrane stomach and intestines.

Attention! More than 500 thousand people are diagnosed with acute colitis every year. On average, 80% of these pathologies arise as a result of the activity in the patient's body of any bacteria, fungi or viruses.

Depending on the type of inflammatory process, the clinical symptoms of acute colitis can differ, however, there are several main features that characterize all violations of this groups:

1. Pain syndrome. The pains are localized along the entire length of the colon, are spastic or cramping in nature. Often, patients have tenesmus, that is, painful urge to defecate, which does not lead to the discharge of feces.
2. Frequent bowel movements. As a result of increased peristaltic contractions of the intestinal walls, stool frequency can reach 15-20 times during the day. In this case, feces contain various impurities, including mucus, purulent discharge, or bloody streaks. Patients with colitis report a strong, unpleasant odor of stool.
3. Weakness and lethargy. Due to the intoxication of the body with the waste products of pathogenic microorganisms, the patient has constant drowsiness, a pronounced decrease in working capacity and a lack of appetite. Lack of therapy can lead to the development of cachexia. Cachexia is a pathological condition characterized by extreme exhaustion. With colitis, it occurs as a result of impaired digestion and absorption of nutrients.
4. Hyperthermia. Most patients with inflammation of the colon have febrile fever caused by the accumulation of toxic substances in the gastrointestinal tract.
5. Intoxication symptoms. Due to the active inflammatory process in the gastrointestinal tract, fermentation and decay processes begin. As a result of general poisoning, patients experience a sharp decline in strength, and their health worsens. Patients complain of arthralgia and myalgia.

Timely diagnosis of the pathological process in acute colitis prevents the development of complications. A severe course of the disease, especially in immunocompromised patients, can cause dehydration shock, intestinal wall abscesses, peritonitis and sepsis.

Treatment of acute colitis is built in stages and involves the complex use of various groups of medicines, depending on the severity of the course of the disease:

1. Water-salt solutions. Patients are given drip infusions to compensate for fluid loss in the body caused by bleeding or diarrhea.
2. Adsorbents. These drugs allow you to stop the symptoms of intoxication resulting from bacterial activity or poisoning as a result of the reabsorption of intestinal contents with prolonged constipation. Most often, patients are prescribed activated carbon, Phosphalugel, Enterosgel, Smecta.
   

   Smecta drug

3. Analgesics. Pain relievers can be relieved by pain relievers: No-shpa, Spazmalgon, Spazgan etc.

1. Antibacterial drugs. Antibiotics are indicated for patients if colitis has an infectious etiology. Most often, patients are prescribed Doxycycline, Amoxicillin, Sumamed and etc.
   

   Release form of the drug Sumamed

Chronic colitis

Chronic colitis is diagnosed in patients with two or more exacerbations of the inflammatory process in the large intestine during the year. Most often, the cause of the pathology is an infection. In about 80% of patients, the causative agents of dysentery and salmonellosis are detected.

Chronic colitis usually develops against the background of the following provoking factors:

1. Violation of the motor and secretory function of the gastrointestinal tract. Patients with previously diagnosed diseases of the digestive system, including Crohn's disease, are more prone to chronic inflammation in the colon.
2. Improper nutrition. Nutrient deficiencies, overuse of fatty and spicy foods cause irritation of the intestinal mucosa and stimulate inflammation.
3. Addictive habits. Regular drinking, smoking and taking drugs leads to dysfunction of various body systems, including indigestion.
4. Taking medications. If a patient takes certain types of pharmacological agents for a long time, he may experience various disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Particularly aggressive in this case are antibiotics, cytostatics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Colitis therapy can differ depending on the etiology of the disease. An infectious inflammatory process is stopped by antibacterial agents and rarely becomes chronic, while as with other types of pathology, the patient needs to constantly observe supportive therapy to prevent exacerbations diseases.

Types of chronic colitis

A kind of pathology	The reason for the development
Infectious
Colitis with dysentery	The causative agent of the infection is Shigella
Colitis on the background of salmonellosis	Salmonella causes infection
Inflammation of the colon with tuberculosis	The cause of the inflammatory process is Koch's bacillus
Non-infectious
A kind of pathology	The reason for the development
Medicinal colitis	Reactive inflammation from laxatives, antibiotics, glycosides, etc.
Allergic inflammation	Immune to allergen response, including to various foods
Endogenous colitis	Autointoxication by metabolic products: urethrates in gout, tumor decay products in oncology

Attention! A severe inflammatory process in the large intestine can become generalized. In this case, the patient is diagnosed with combined colitis.

Therapy for chronic colitis includes both the use of medication and adherence to a specialized diet. Patients should exclude from the diet all spicy, excessively high-calorie and fermentation-provoking foods: smoked meats, fast food, carbonated drinks, alcohol, fatty meats, etc.

Drug treatment involves the use of the following groups of drugs:

1. Antibiotics. Antimicrobial therapy is needed to prevent further recurrence of the disease. The drugs are prescribed after the identification of the microorganism that caused the inflammation of the large intestine. The following funds are considered the most effective: Amoxiclav, Azithromycin, Hemomycin and etc.
2. Probiotics to restore the level of beneficial microflora in the gastrointestinal tract: Smecta, Probiform, Linex, Bifidumbacterin.
3. Laxatives or laxatives if the patient has diarrhea or constipation: Loperamide, Bisacodyl, Duphalac etc.
4. Enzymatic drugs: Creon, Pangrol, Panzinor, Festal.

If exacerbations of colitis occur more than three times within one year, the question of prescribing hormone-containing drugs to the patient to correct the disease is considered. The type of medicine, dosage and duration of use are determined by the doctor, taking into account all the characteristics of the patient's health.

Nonspecific ulcerative colitis

One of the most commonly diagnosed chronic inflammatory processes in the colon is ulcerative colitis. The reasons for the development of this disease are still unknown. In modern medical practice, it is assumed that the main provoking factor is a genetic predisposition. In people whose closest relatives suffer from ulcerative colitis, the risk of developing such dysfunctions increases by about 2-2.5 times.

Attention! To a greater extent, nonspecific ulcerative colitis affects women aged 18 to 45 years. At the same time, pathology is more often detected in residents of large cities, which indicates a direct dependence of the incidence rate on poor ecology.

In patients with ulcerative colitis, the following symptomatic manifestations of the disease are noted:

1. Intense abdominal pain. Most often, the pain syndrome is localized in the lower left half of the abdominal cavity. With an exacerbation of the disease, patients complain of intolerable spasms and burning.
2. Constipation. Constipation is a nonspecific symptom that is characteristic of colitis. In patients, there is often a stool delay of 72-90 hours or more. In this case, a violation of defecation is accompanied by cramping pain and a feeling of fullness in the abdomen.
3. Fever. Intoxication of the body against the background of the inflammatory process leads to a permanent increase in body temperature and the appearance corresponding manifestations of hyperthermia: myalgia, arthralgia, dizziness, a sharp deterioration in well-being in case of minimal physical activity.
4. Melena. Melena is called tarry black stools, which acquire a similar color as a result of mixing with blood as a result of perforation of the ulcer and perforation of the intestinal wall. Also, with bleeding from the lower parts of the digestive tract, bloody inclusions of a bright scarlet color may appear.
5. Discharge of mucus and pus from the anus. Moreover, the closer the affected area of ​​the intestine is to the anus, the more pronounced this pathological syndrome.

Nonspecific colitis requires an integrated approach to therapy. In the absence of timely treatment, patients develop severe complications:

• pathological expansion of the intestine;
• extensive internal bleeding;
• a sharp increase in the risk of developing intestinal neoplasms, including malignant ones;
• peritonitis.

Attention! Peritonitis is an inflammatory process in the serous membrane of the peritoneum. Such a pathological condition is accompanied by a sharp deterioration in the patient's well-being and disruption of the work of various body systems. With peritonitis, the patient needs immediate medical attention, otherwise there is a high risk of death from multiple organ failure.

Ulcerative colitis therapy is aimed at preventing recurrence of the disease. To normalize the functioning of the large intestine, the patient must follow a diet that takes into account the following principles:

1. All meals should be cooked boiled or baked.
2. It is recommended to eat food often, but in small portions. At the same time, the frequency of meals is at least 5 times a day.
3. The patient's diet should have a high protein content, a full range of vitamins and minerals.
4. The last meal is no later than 19-20 hours. 2 hours before bedtime, you can drink a glass of low-fat kefir or warm milk.

Drug therapy involves the use of the following means:

1. Sulfasalazine 3-4 times a day during an exacerbation or twice a day during remission.
2. Mesalazine - a drug with anti-inflammatory and bactericidal action.
3. Enemas with Salofalk, which has an anti-inflammatory and healing effect on the mucous layer of the intestinal wall.
4. Prednisolone with regular relapses of the disease. Treatment is carried out in courses of 2-4 weeks.
5. Topical corticosteroids. The most used is Budesonide - glucocorticoid, which has antihistamine and immunosuppressive effects. The period of use of the funds is on average 15 months.

Also, with damage to the lower intestines, it is possible to use anesthetic ointments and gels: Proctosedil, Proctosan, Relief and etc.

Colon ischemia

Ischemic lesion of the large intestine occurs as a result of disruption of the normal blood supply to the tissues of the digestive tract.

In patients with this disorder, the following clinical picture is determined:

1. Sharp pain syndrome, often localized in the left side of the abdominal cavity. It can radiate to the lower back and hypochondrium.
2. Bowel obstruction. This symptom is especially dangerous, as it can lead to severe poisoning and death. It occurs as a result of an acute spasm of the intestine and a sharp narrowing of its lumen.
3. Dyspeptic syndrome: nausea, vomiting, flatulence. Patients report a decrease or lack of appetite, against the background of which cachexia develops.

Attention! Cachexia is a complete depletion of the body, manifested by acute weight deficiency. In the absence of therapy, this condition is fatal.

In ischemia, in most cases, therapy should be aimed at treating the underlying disease that caused this disorder. The patient is shown strict bed rest, intravenous infusion to prevent dehydration and microclysters in the development of constipation.

Inflammation of the large intestine is a pathological process that requires mandatory medical intervention. The etiology of this disorder is determined in the course of diagnostic measures, on the basis of which, as a result, the necessary treatment and supportive therapeutic measures are prescribed.

Video - Symptoms and treatment of ulcerative colitis