Ulcerative Colitis - Kids & Teens

Treatment plan for Ulcerative Colitis

How may ulcerative colitis affect me?

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic (long-term) disease that causes soreness and swelling (inflammation) of the large intestine and rectum. The symptoms come and go in bouts known as flares.

Both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are types of inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD.

Unlike Crohn's disease, which can happen anywhere along the digestive tract, ulcerative colitis affects the colon (large intestine) and rectum. In many people it causes belly pain and runny poo (diarrhoea) which is often bloody. Ulcerative colitis can also make you lose weight, feel very tired, not want to eat, feel dizzy or sick to your stomach, or cause a fever or anaemia (low red blood cell count, which can make you feel tired or dizzy). Children with ulcerative colitis may not grow or develop they normally would.

This picture shows your digestive system and the large intestine and rectum, which can be affected by ulcerative colitis. Click here to print and colour it in. Ask your doctor to circle the areas in your body that are affected.

Some people with ulcerative colitis have even more problems, such as lots of bleeding or an opening in the bowel wall called a perforation. If you have any of these problems, you may need treatment for them as well as for your ulcerative colitis.

Ulcerative colitis can also cause problems in other parts of the body, such as joints, eyes, mouth, liver, skin, blood or kidneys. Some of these problems may get better when your ulcerative colitis gets better, but sometimes they will need additional treatment as well.