What are the symptoms of ulcerative colitis
Because ulcerative colitis is an ongoing condition, you may have times of good health, called remission,
when there are few or no symptoms, alternating with times when your symptoms are more
active, called relapses or ‘flare-ups’. It is a very individual condition with some people remaining
well for a long time, even for many years, while others have frequent flare-ups.
The common symptoms during a flare-up are diarrhoea, usually with blood, mucus and pus,
and cramping pains in the abdomen, which can be very severe and often occur before passing
a stool. The diarrhoea may begin slowly or quite suddenly. Having diarrhoea means that it is
harder to hold on to the liquid stools and, with the need to get to the lavatory quickly, people
may occasionally experience incontinence (accidents). Some people find that their stools are
particularly smelly.
People with active ulcerative colitis often feel extremely tired and lethargic. This can be due to the illness
itself, as well as a number of other things such as a lack of sleep because of pain and getting
up at night with diarrhoea. You may also have a fever and feel generally unwell, and lose your
appetite, so you may lose weight. If you lose a lot of blood you may develop anaemia (a
reduced number of red blood cells), which can also make you feel very tired.
Because ulcerative colitis is an ongoing condition, you may have times of good health, called remission,
when there are few or no symptoms, alternating with times when your symptoms are more
active, called relapses or ‘flare-ups’. It is a very individual condition with some people remaining
well for a long time, even for many years, while others have frequent flare-ups.
The common symptoms during a flare-up are diarrhoea, usually with blood, mucus and pus,
and cramping pains in the abdomen, which can be very severe and often occur before passing
a stool. The diarrhoea may begin slowly or quite suddenly. Having diarrhoea means that it is
harder to hold on to the liquid stools and, with the need to get to the lavatory quickly, people
may occasionally experience incontinence (accidents). Some people find that their stools are
particularly smelly.
People with active ulcerative colitis often feel extremely tired and lethargic. This can be due to the illness
itself, as well as a number of other things such as a lack of sleep because of pain and getting
up at night with diarrhoea. You may also have a fever and feel generally unwell, and lose your
appetite, so you may lose weight. If you lose a lot of blood you may develop anaemia (a
reduced number of red blood cells), which can also make you feel very tired.
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