Microscopic Colitis: What Is It?
Microscopic colitis is a form of large intestine or colon inflammation that can result in cramps and watery diarrhoea. It might hurt and be unpleasant. However, it rarely affects patients as severely as other forms of inflammatory bowel disease.
Because the inflammation is too small to be seen with the naked eye, it is known as microscopic. Your doctor must take a sample of tissue and examine it under a microscope in order to diagnose it.
Microscopic colitis comes in two different varieties:
Collagenous colitis
Lymphocytic colitis
The symptoms and treatments are the same, and the differences are negligible. Under a microscope, however, the tissues of the two varieties of microscopic colitis appear distinct.
The more severe forms of bowel disease, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, are unrelated to microscopic colitis.
You are not more prone to developing cancer if you have microscopic colitis.
Symptoms
Watery (but not bloody) diarrhoea that may last weeks to months
Cramps
Pain
Bloating
Dehydration
The signs could improve before coming back later.
Your doctor might recommend a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy to aid in the diagnosis of microscopic colitis. A tube with a camera on it is used in both procedures to examine the colon.
Your doctor takes tissue samples during the operation to look for microscopic colitis symptoms.
Causes
Bacteria, poisons, or viruses are potential causes of microscopic colitis, although experts are unsure of their exact causes. Smoking also has an impact. Your immune system may possibly be the cause of the issue. Your body might assault the cells in your own digestive tract in response to a made-up threat.
You are more prone to develop microscopic colitis if you use certain drugs, such as:
Aspirin and other nonsteroidal pain relievers
Medicines for heartburn
certain antidepressants
Microcolitis can strike anyone at any time. But women and people aged 45 and up are more likely to experience it. Also, it could run in families.
Treatment
Microscopic colitis can occasionally go away on its own. If not, your doctor might advise that you do the following:
Avoid foods, beverages, and other items, including coffee, dairy products, and fatty foods, that may exacerbate your symptoms.
Purchase fibre supplements.
Stop using medications that can cause side effects.
Stop smoking.
Your physician might recommend the following drugs if those don't work:
Imodium and Pepto-Bismol are examples of over-the-counter medications for treating diarrhoea.
Prednisone and cholestyramine are two examples of prescribed anti-inflammatory medications.
If these remedies don't work, you could need immune system suppressants such as azathioprine (Imuran). Although surgery is an option for microscopic colitis, relatively few patients ever require it.
The majority of people with microscopic colitis respond effectively to treatment. After leaving treatment, some patients experience relapses.
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