What Is Micro Colitis?

Micro colitis, or microscopic colitis to give the condition its full name, causes inflammation of the colon, part of the large intestine. It is so-called because tissue samples from the colon must be examined under a microscope to make the diagnosis.

Occurrence

• According to the Department of Medicine at Orebro University, micro colitis was once considered a rare condition. It has, however, developed into one of the most common causes of chronic diarrhoea in the US and Europe and is diagnosed in between 10 and 20 percent of cases where blood is not found in the stool.

Symptoms

• Micro colitis is characterized by abdominal pain, mild weight loss and chronic or intermittent diarrhea. The condition may also cause nausea or incontinence, but only in the minority of case.

Treatment

• Various drugs, including non-specific anti-diarrhoea drugs such as loperamide in the first instance, can be prescribed for the treatment of micro colitis. Bismuth subsalicylate, sulfasalazine and corticosteroids have also proved successful in treating the condition, according to the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota.