Ulcerative Proctitis

Ulcerative Proctitis – General Information

Ulcerative Proctitis is considered an inflammation of the patient’s lining of the rectum. In most cases the disease is caused by sexually transmitted disorders, but there are also cases in which the patient developed the disease from an inflammatory bowel condition or from non-sexually transmitted infections. The Ulcerative Proctitis disease can also appear as a side effect of certain medical treatments such as radiation therapy and antibiotic overuse. Usually, the sexually transmitted form of the disease is common in individuals who engage anal or oral-anal intercourse, especially if they have multiple partners. The disease is known to affect male patients greater than female patients. If the condition is not treated in an early stage it can become chronic causing life threatening complications. However, in most cases, it can be cured with the available treatment.

The treatment usually depends on the cause of the respective medical disorder. There are certain risk factors that can lead to the appearance of the disease and can include sexual behaviors such as being the recipient of anal and oral-anal sex, having multiple sex partners, having anal sex with a partner who has a sexually transmitted disease and having anal sex without a condom. The risk factors that are considered non-sexually transmitted can include having an inflammatory bowel disease, such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, using antibiotics to treat a certain diseases and having radiation therapy directed at or near the patient’s rectum. If Ulcerative Proctitis is treated with the proper medication and medical care it can be cured in less than three weeks.

Ulcerative Proctitis – Symptoms

There are certain causes that can lead to the appearance of this kind of disease and can include sexually transmitted infections, which are usually contracted through anal or oral-anal intercourse, such as gonorrhea, syphilis, genital herpes, Chlamydia and anal warts; non-sexually transmitted bacterial diseases, which are rare in children but can appear as a result of the same organism that causes strep throat, salmonella, and campylobacter, usually associated with food borne diseases. If the patient has ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, he or she may be exposed at a high risk of developing Ulcerative Proctitis. The colitis disease is characterized by an inflammation of the inner lining of the patient’s large intestine, including his rectum, which is the lowest part of the colon.

Crohn’s disease is characterized by a chronic inflammation of any part of the patient’s intestinal tract. There are cases in which the disease can be caused by other agents that include chemicals, such as hydrogen peroxide enemas, medications or objects that are place inside the patient’s rectum; trauma of the patient anal-rectal region; radiation therapy, when is applied directly or near the patient’s rectum as a treatment for rectal cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer and uterine cancer; and antibiotic overuse, which can destroy the protective bacteria in the patient’s gastrointestinal tract. The most common signs and symptoms caused by Ulcerative Proctitis can include frequent or continuous urge to go to the bathroom, a bowel movement, rectal bleeding, and presence of mucus through the rectum, anal and rectal pain, a feeling of rectal fullness or diarrhea.

Ulcerative Proctitis – Treatment

The treatment for Ulcerative Proctitis usually depends on the cause that triggered it and on the way each patient reacts to the medication. For the infectious form of the disease, the doctor can prescribe certain medications that help alleviate the cause of the infection. In treating the infection, the needed drugs also depend on the cause of the condition. The most common medicines that are used to treat this form of Ulcerative Proctitis are antibiotics and antiviral drugs. If this sexually transmitted medical condition is due to a bacterial cause, the most appropriate medicines are antibiotics. If the disease is caused by a non-sexually transmitted infection, the doctor usually recommends an oral antibiotic. There are cases in which the disease can also be developed from antibiotic overuse, and the most common medicines to be applied are metronidazole or flagyl and vancomycin or vancocin. These medicines act by destroying the bacteria that grown in the place of the normal intestinal bacteria. Antiviral medications are used to treat viral form of sexually transmitted diseases, and the most common medicine to treat this form of disease is acyclovir or zovirax.

It is recommended to apply the medicine in the first 48 hours because it can relieve the pain and ease the signs and symptoms caused by this form of Ulcerative Proctitis. In most cases, doctors use radiation therapy to treat the disorder but some patients can develop certain side effects that can be a threat for his life. Usually, mild signs and symptoms do not require any treatment, but there are cases in which the patient experiences bleeding and he or she may need treatment. The most common therapy consists in iron supplements and ablation therapy. Usually, the severe loss of blood is caused by the patient’s iron deficiency, which can also cause anemia. By applying the treatment which consists in iron supplements, the patient can restore his iron levels to normal and reduce the risk of developing anemia once the bleeding stopped or diminished. If the patient still presents anemia despite the iron therapy, the first treatment option is ablation therapy. This kind of procedure acts by destroying the patient’s abnormal bleeding tissue, improving the Ulcerative Proctitis signs and symptoms. In using the ablation therapy, doctors can also apply other procedures to effectively treat the condition, and can include laser therapy and argon plasma coagulation.

The laser therapy consists in a hot beam of laser which is inserted to burn the patient’s lesions, while the argon plasma coagulation procedure uses a jet of argon gas in combination with an electric current. There are cases in which Ulcerative Proctitis can be caused by inflammatory bowel disease. The goal of the therapy in such conditions is to reduce the inflammation that causes the symptoms. The most common procedures are used to treat this cause include anti inflammatory medications, anti diarrhea medications and surgery. The surgical approach is usually applied when the patient does not respond to the medication therapy, or when the doctor recommends the removal of the damaged area of the digestive tract.