Symptoms
The symptoms of
ulcerative colitis may include:
- Diarrhea or rectal urgency. Some people may
have diarrhea 10 to 20 times a day. The urge to go to the bathroom may wake you
up at night.
- Rectal bleeding. The disease usually causes
bloody diarrhea and mucus. You also may have rectal pain and an urgent need to
empty your bowels.
- Belly pain, often described as cramping.
Your belly may be sore when touched.
- Constipation. This symptom
may develop depending on what part of the colon is affected. Constipation is
much less common than diarrhea.
- Loss of
appetite.
- Fever. In severe cases, fever or other symptoms that
affect the entire body may develop.
- Weight loss. Ongoing
symptoms, such as diarrhea, can lead to weight loss.
- Too few red
blood cells (). Some people get anemia because of low
iron levels caused by bloody stools or intestinal inflammation.
include Crohn's disease,
,
(IBS),
and .