Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis and the Team Challenge endurance training program This is a seven minute presentation which introduces the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of Ulcerative Colitis and Crohns Disease and the Team Challenge en... By: Steve Schlichtenmyer … Continue reading →

The IBD Support Group offers a unique website dedicated to interaction between Crohns Disease and Ulcerative Colitis sufferers Congratulations! Youve found your way to the community created specifically for Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Digestive Health sufferers. We are a public education organization for sufferers. We launched our first website about digestive health in 1995. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine. The major types of IBD are Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis. Inflammatory Bowel Disease is not the same as Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The main difference between Crohns disease and Ulcerative colitis is the location and nature of the inflammatory changes. Crohns can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, from mouth to anus (skip lesions), although a majority of the cases start in the terminal ileum. Ulcerative colitis, in contrast, is restricted to the colon and the rectum. Although very different diseases, Crohns disease and Ulcerative colitis may present with any of the following symptoms: abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, severe internal cramps/muscle spasms in the region of the pelvis, weight loss and various associated complaints elsewhere in the body, including the joints, eyes, skin, and liver. Diagnosis is … Continue reading →

Management of ulcerative colitis involves first treating the acute symptoms of the disease, then maintaining remission. Ulcerative colitis is a form of colitis, a disease of the intestine, specifically the large intestine or colon, that includes characteristic ulcers, or open sores, in the colon. The main symptom of active disease is usually diarrhea mixed with blood, of gradual onset which often leads to anaemia. Ulcerative colitis is, however, a systemic disease that affects many parts of the body outside the intestine. Standard treatment for ulcerative colitis depends on extent of involvement and disease severity. The goal is to induce remission initially with medications, followed by the administration of maintenance medications to prevent a relapse of the disease. The concept of induction of remission and maintenance of remission is very important. The medications used to induce and maintain a remission somewhat overlap, but the treatments are different. Physicians first direct treatment to inducing a remission which involves relief of symptoms and mucosal healing of the lining of the colon and then longer term treatment to maintain the remission. Anaemia, caused by both chronic blood loss from the gastrointestinal tract and reduced absorption due to the up-regulation of hepcidin should also be … Continue reading →