conditions - Colitis

Colitis is inflammation in your colon, which is the main part of your large intestine. Your colon is the last leg of the journey your food takes through your digestive system. Inflammation in your colon can affect the way this journey ends, causing pain, diarrhea and sometimes blood in your poop. Inflammation is your body’s response to infection or injury. It causes swelling and tenderness in your tissues.

There are different types of colitis, with different causes. Some are short-lived and easy to treat, like when you have a bacterial infection from food poisoning. Other types — called inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) — are more chronic and difficult to treat. Colitis is more serious when it doesn’t go away. A severe case can do serious damage to your colon over time. It also affects your quality of life.

One form of colitis is Ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects the lining of the large intestine and rectum. Onset is usually gradual and usually begins with an increased urgency to defecate, mild lower abdominal cramps, and the appearance of blood and pus in the stools. The severity of the condition varies between individuals and over time.

People who have ulcerative colitis have an increased risk of developing bowel cancer, especially if the condition is severe or extensive.

Prognosis of Colitis depends on the cause and type, for example:

• Crohn disease is a chronic condition which has no cure but can be controlled. Biologic agents are very effective in controlling symptoms of Crohn colitis.
• Ulcerative colitis can usually be controlled with medicines. If not controlled, it can be cured by surgically removing the colon.
• Viral, bacterial, and parasitic colitis can be cured with appropriate medicines.
• Pseudomembranous colitis can usually be cured with appropriate antibiotics.

Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine for colitis conditions may prove very beneficial for this ailment

In Traditional Chinese Medicine ulcerative colitis may be caused by constitutional deficiencies, invasion of exterior pathogenic factors or an unbalanced diet. Constitutional deficiencies usually refer to spleen, stomach and kidney deficiencies. Invasion of exterior pathogenic factors refers to damp-heat or damp-cold. An unbalanced diet such as one high in raw or cold foods can injure the spleen and stomach by obstructing their functions in transforming and transporting food and nutrients. A change of diet can be augmented by treatments including Acupuncture and/or Chinese Herbal Medicine for colitis and anxiety.

The organs in Chinese Medicine are not only viewed as the anatomical structure, but also include it's functions and energy system, according to Chinese Medicine, so when "spleen deficiency" or "kidney deficiency", in Chinese Medicine terms does not mean that there is damage to the physical organ, in most cases and in the event of physical injury to an organ would be termed (physical) Spleen damage for example.

As always in Traditional Chinese Medicine, each patient is viewed as a unique individual, in whole, with a strong connection between mind and body, and to their environment, and thus their symptoms and treatments are also unique.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for colitis have long been used in an attempt to assist patients suffering from ulcerative colitis/ Traditional Chinese Herbal prescriptions usually contain ingredients that fortify the spleen, replenish Qi, clear heat and expel dampness. They are effective in resolving inflammation, regulating the immune system and conditioning the bowel.