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- What is ulcerative colitis?
- Symptoms of ulcerative colitis
- Causes of ulcerative colitis
- Prevention of ulcerative colitis
- Risk factors for ulcerative colitis
- Complications of ulcerative colitis
- When to see a doctor about ulcerative colitis
- Diagnosis of ulcerative colitis
- Conventional treatment of ulcerative colitis
- Alternative/complementary treatment of ulcerative colitis
- Living with ulcerative colitis
- Caring for someone with ulcerative colitis
Caring for someone with ulcerative colitis
Partner
The best way to help a partner with ulcerative colitis is to be supportive and sympathetic, but also the following can be helpful too:
- Avoiding smoking inside - people with ulcerative colitis need to be away from any cigarette smoke, as it can exacerbate their symptoms
- Eating smaller meals - help your partner to eat smaller meals by joining them in eating smaller meals, as this helps support your partner a great deal. Cooking and eating smaller meals is one way to help reduce the load on the digestive system by reducing the amount of food that needs to be digested and absorbed
- Encourage a healthy diet - a healthy diet is one which has adequate amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, protein and healthy fats and has little or no processed foods
- Encourage exercise - going for walks (or joining a gym together) with your partner is a great way to bond. Exercise helps to improve circulation, reduces stress and encourages better health overall
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Friends
People who have a friend who has ulcerative colitis can support their friend by the following:
- Dinner parties - if you invite your friend to a dinner party, try to ensure there is food that they can eat. The best way to do this is to ask what foods are off limits for them and ensure to let them know beforehand which foods they should avoid
- Discourage alcohol - if your friend has ulcerative colitis, they should be limiting alcohol intake as it can cause a worsening of symptoms, so try to make your social meetings ones that are alcohol free
Parents
Parents of a child who has ulcerative colitis can support their child by:
- Avoid smoking inside - people with ulcerative colitis need to be away from any cigarette smoke, as it can exacerbate their symptoms
- Cooking smaller meals - this is one way to help reduce the load on the child's digestive system by reducing the amount of food that needs to be digested and absorbed
- Probiotics - introduce some probiotics to the child's diet, preferably in powder form as it can be more easily assimilated into other foods, but the tablets can also be taken if this is not successful
- Slippery elm - find creative ways to add slippery elm to foods (smoothies, breakfast cereal, muesli) in the child's diet. Slippery elm is one of the herbs most beneficial for any type of digestive disorder, but especially one in which there is irritation and damage to the intestinal wall and the intestinal mucosa
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< living with ulcerative colitis Last reviewed: 30 September 2008 || Last updated: 14 February 2009
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NOTE: Mega doses of any type of vitamin, mineral, amino acid or herbal supplement cannot cure illnesses and in fact can be very dangerous and produce toxic side effects and interfere with medicine you are taking. Always ensure you consult your doctor before taking any type of complementary supplements.
Disclaimer: This guide is not intended to be used for diagnostic or prescriptive purposes. For any treatment or diagnosis of illness, please see your doctor.
