For Ulcerative Colitis, Is Holistic Care the Best Option?

Prescription medications may be able to control your flare-ups more effectively than lifestyle changes alone. For this reason, you should seek out healthcare providers that look at treating you from a holistic perspective. These providers will not write off lifestyle changes, but they will also not place all their trust in prescriptions as the only effective method for treating UC. Preventing constant inflammation with UC is not just important for making you feel better but is also important in reducing your risk of cancer development. People with UC are more at risk for developing colon cancer, and chronic inflammation plays an active role in this risk.

Long-term bleeding can also lead to complications such as iron deficiency anemia. Iron supplements can help correct this anemia, but it is also important to treat the cause rather than just put a Band-Aid on the symptoms. Prescription medications can help heal ulcers that cause intestinal bleeding.

Chronic diarrhea may also require pharmaceutical treatment. Diarrhea is what leads to dehydration in people with UC. Increasing fluid intake is great, but if you are just losing the water you ingest, again, you need to fix the underlying problem.