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Ulcerative Colitis - Kids & Teens
Treatment plan for
Ulcerative Colitis
What are the treatment options for ulcerative colitis?
Ulcerative
colitis can affect different people in different ways. One person
with ulcerative colitis may get better on their own without needing
to take medicine every day, while someone else may be so ill that
they need to have surgery right away. That is why your plan is
just for you, based on your situation and how your ulcerative
colitis is affecting you.
Your treatment
plan will be based on four things:
-
How ill your
ulcerative colitis makes you feel
-
Your health
in general and any medicines you have tried in the past
-
How your
illness is likely to affect you in the future (called
'prognosis')
-
Your
personal needs, wishes and expectations
How can treatment help?
Medicine or
surgery for ulcerative colitis helps to:
-
Treat a
flare-up of symptoms quickly
-
Keep you
free from having any symptoms (remission)
-
identify
people who need to have surgery
-
Make sure
you are getting proper nutrition
-
Identify any
special needs of people in the hospital or getting care at home
-
Weigh the
benefits and risks for any approach
When you are
unwell, the goal is to get you feeling better as quickly as possible
- what doctors call 'induction of remission'. Once you are feeling
better, the next goal is to keep you free from symptoms for as long
as possible. That is called 'maintenance'.
For parent information
click here
For
parents - severity of ulcerative colitis
Your doctor
will talk to you and your child about whether your child's
illness is considered mild, moderate or severe. The following
guidelines are often used:
Mild
<4 runny
stools per day
Little or no
bleeding
No signs of
systemic effects (eg, fever, raised pulse or blood counts)
Moderate
4-6 runny
stools per day
Moderate
bleeding
Some signs
of systemic effects (eg, fever, raised pulse or blood counts)
Mild disease
that does not respond to treatment
Severe
>6 runny
stools per day (often at night)
Severe
bleeding
Signs of
systemic effects (eg, fever, raised pulse or blood counts)
Signs of
malnutrition
Weight loss
in excess of 10% of your weight when well
Some people
with ulcerative colitis may be unwell only a few times, but
other people with more severe illness may find they are very
unwell a lot of the time and may need to take medicine every day
or even have surgery to get better. Based on your situation, you
and your doctor will decide which treatment and care will be
right for you.
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