Prevention of recurrent colitis

This is an automatically translated article.

Colitis is a common and not life-threatening condition. However, it is very easy to recur if not treated thoroughly. Therefore, it is necessary to have appropriate prevention and treatment methods to prevent the disease from reoccurring.

1. What is colitis?

The colon (large intestine) is the last part of the digestive tract in the body. The large intestine is made up of a tube about 1.2m long, which receives food that has been digested and absorbed in the small intestine. Here, nutrients and water that have not been absorbed in the small intestine will be reabsorbed. Residues will be excreted through feces. This is also where many types of intestinal bacteria and parasites live, so the colon is very susceptible to infection.
Colitis is when bacteria and parasites thrive, they will attack the lining of the colon, causing damage to the colon, inflammation causing colitis.
Colitis is a disease with a high incidence in Vietnam. One out of every three people who come to a gastrointestinal clinic for a check-up has colitis. This is not a dangerous disease, however, if it is not detected early and treated thoroughly, the disease is very difficult to treat completely, prone to recurrent colitis. Some people can relapse 4 times in a year. Especially can lead to colon cancer if it recurs many times.

2. Symptoms of colitis and recurrent colitis

Diarrhea: stools with mucus and blood. Possibly up to 10 times a day and for a long time. Flatulence, abdominal distension Abdominal pain: initially the disease takes place silently, then gradually increases the need to defecate. At first, the pain in the lower abdomen was mild, then the severity increased and there was bloody mucus in the stool. Paroxysmal colitis: Initially, the patient has signs of sudden severe diarrhea, fever to 40° C (104° F), abdominal pain. Systemic symptoms and signs: the patient is tired due to diarrhea, high fever, anemia, loss of appetite and weight loss.

3. Causes of colitis

Every day patients put a lot of food and drink into the body. From there, viruses, bacteria, worms, flukes... enter the body, develop and cause disease. This is the reason why people with colitis often have recurrent colitis, which is difficult to cure completely. Due to unsafe food: eating a lot of sour, spicy, alcoholic, carbonated drinks or toxic foods... When seeing symptoms of abdominal pain, diarrhea... patients often go to buy them themselves. medicine to drink. Antibiotics kill harmful bacteria as well as good bacteria. The beneficial bacteria in the gut is out of balance, making the disease prone to relapse. Mental stress, anxiety, stress, mental instability... are also causes of intestinal diseases, especially colitis. Incomplete treatment: After taking the drug for 2-3 days, the symptoms will decrease rapidly. But at this time, the agents have not been destroyed but only temporarily weakened. At that time, the patient will have a subjective mentality and stop using the drug even though the treatment has not ended. Therefore, the bacteria that have not been killed will become active again leading to recurrent colitis.

4. Methods of preventing colitis and recurrent colitis

Need to have a scientific diet: Limit fried, fried, fried foods, instead, prepare food by boiling, steaming, brazing. Limit alcoholic, carbonated or stimulant drinks such as coffee, tea... Instead, you should add fruit juices, smoothies, filtered water or mineral water... Eat right meals , do not skipping meals. Do not eat too much in one meal because it can cause overload for the digestive system, easy to be full, bloating, defecation. Need to be very patient: Use the right dose as prescribed by the doctor, do not arbitrarily stop taking the drug without the permission of the doctor. If you do not follow the doctor's instructions, it is easy to lead to the treatment of ulcerative colitis. When sick, do not arbitrarily buy medicine to use. Instead, you should see a doctor for examination, advice and a reasonable treatment plan. Limit stress, anxiety, stress... Practice sports: jogging, meditation, yoga... Strengthen the immune system for the digestive system by supplementing live beneficial bacteria Bifido. This supplement helps to balance the gut microbiota. At the same time, under the effect of bacteria, the ulcers also heal quickly.

5. Methods of diagnosing colitis and recurrent colitis

Culture and stool examination: find bacteria and viruses that cause disease. Biopsy sigmoidoscopy: Differentiating Crohn's disease from ulcerative colitis. Serum titration and biopsy: performed in patients with suspected amoebic infection Stool test for Clostridium difficile toxin: patients with history of antibiotic use. Thus, colitis is not a dangerous disease, but it is easy to recur. Therefore, patients need to have a reasonable diet and lifestyle to avoid recurrence of colitis.

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