Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is one of the most commonly found types of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) of unknown cause. Genetic, ethnic, altered gut bacteria, and autoimmunity can contribute to its causation. UC affects the large intestine – specifically colon and the rectum, and causes open sores and inflammatory patches in its inner layers. People with UC typically experience bloody loose stools, mucus with their diarrhoea, colic pain in their abdomen, urging to pass stools after eating, weight loss, and nutritional deficiency. These symptoms can be aggravated by taking certain pain killers and NSAIDs.

What Is Autoimmunity Our immune system is designed to attack external harmful germs and safeguard our body during infections. This is done in two ways: the innate immunity and the adaptive immunity. Innate immunity is the first-line of defence and it consists of the skin, saliva, tears, bacterial flora, cells in the blood, and immunity obtained through mother’s milk. Adaptive immunity fights bacteria by forming specific attack-cells and is capable of building a ‘memory’ to prevent future infections of the same kind.

Autoimmunity occurs when our immune cells erroneously identify the body’s healthy tissues as harmful, and attacks them. While it has been theorised that IBD can also be triggered when the immune system identifies our gut bacteria as harmful, the attack may be directed against the inner lining of the colon itself.

Why Homeopathy For Ulcerative Colitis? The reasons for autoimmune disease are often stated as unknown. However, physical and psychological stresses have been implied in the development of autoimmune diseases. Over 80% of patients have reported having had uncommon emotional stresses before the development of their autoimmune disease. The current treatment options available for UC focus solely on reducing the inflammatory processes, pain relief and reducing the swelling, which are the end products of the problem. These treatment options offer momentary relief, but come with the risk of side effects and relapse of the complaints. In more severe cases, patients may be prescribed steroids and antibiotics, but it is advisable to limit their usage due to adverse reactions.

Homeopathy has been useful in treating various chronic and autoimmune diseases as the treatment is specific to the person. The treatment approach is holistic – meaning that the patient’s mental, emotional and physical complaints and/or ‘triggers’ will be taken into consideration, so that the person is seen as a whole and not as component parts. Thus two people having the same disease may receive two different treatments, as opposed to a single generic treatment specific to the condition.

This approach can be better appreciated in terms of a patient’s improvement because autoimmune conditions have a strong correlation with emotional and/or mental stresses and may also be associated with other various health issues. For instance, a person with UC might also have associated knee pain, skin flare-ups and falling hair. Fortunately all such symptoms can be treated simultaneously with the aid of homeopathy.