Weight loss, fatigue, bleeding from your rectum, severe bleeding and loss of blood which leads to anemia and loss of nutrients and fluids from your body are all common symptoms of ulcerative colitis. Some people may also experience joint pain, sores on the skin, osteoporosis (brittle bones) and even liver disorders.
Another possible symptom is colon cancer since this disease severely affects the colon as well. Infections and tears in the colon are all symptoms that can happen over time when living with ulcerative colitis. Though symptoms look different in everyone who may be living with this, it’s better to know what to look for when determining if something isn’t right.
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What Triggers Inflammation Flare-Ups?
It’s hard to know what to do to avoid triggering a flare-up when most experts don’t know the exact cause of flare-ups. Though experts aren’t too sure what causes a flare-up, it has been noted that certain foods and diets can make your symptoms worse.
Foods with high fiber are great for nutrients but consuming them raw can worsen your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms.
Try steaming or baking them instead. Eating large meals can also cause symptoms to worsen during a flare-up. Consuming too much dairy (or depending on your body) any dairy at all can trigger your inflammation. Stress is also a huge trigger for an ulcerative colitis flare-up.
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Can This Type Of Disease Be Prevented?
Unfortunately, there are no actions that can prevent ulcerative colitis from developing. As stated before, many experts do not know the exact cause of why it develops in the first place. Before it was thought to develop because of diet and stress but doctors now say that though diet and stress may trigger the disease and its symptoms, they are not the cause of it.
For now, it can just be looked at as your immune system malfunctioning. Regardless of what causes this disease, there are prevention tips that you can take in order to lower the chance of your symptoms worsening.
Lowering your stress levels with exercise, monitoring your diet, staying away from certain foods when experiencing symptoms such as dairy, foods high in fiber and sugary or alcoholic drinks are all ways to prevent worsening symptoms. In life, some things just can’t be prevented but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t measures to take to stop them from drastically worsening.