Proctitis

Proctitis

It is  inflammation of the mucous lining of the rectum. Rectum is the ending of the colon which open as anus outside through which feaces pass out. Severity of disease range from mild to moderate and it is usually associated with certain inflammatory diseases of the colon. Proctitis may also occur due to sexually transmitted organisms.

Symptoms

Below mention are the signs and symptoms of proctitis:Proctitis Symptoms causes Treatment

  • Pain during bowel movements
  • Diarrhea
  • Feeling of fullness of rectum
  • Rectal pain
  • Rectal bleeding
  • Pain on left side of abdomen
Causes

Following conditions may associated with proctitis:

  • Sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhea, genital herpes and chlamydia.
  • Antibiotics which eradicate the normal flora of the gut
  • Radiotherapy of gut for certain cancer
  • Inflammatory diseases of gut like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
  • Allergic esophagitis which is also associated with increased number of eosinophils in blood
Complications

If not treated earlier it may cause the following complications:

  • Fistulas at different sites of intestine
  • Anemia due to loss of blood
  • Ulcers due to chronic inflammation
Diagnosis

After taking history and performing physical examination your doctor will recommend the following tests:

  • Laboratory analysis of rectum discharge to rule out the STDs infection
  • Sigmoidoscopy to check the inner condition of rectum
  • Blood test to check the complete blood count
  • Stool DR
  • Ultrasound to see the extend of disease
Treatment

Treatment option depend upon the etiology of disease which include:

  • Antiviral to treat the sexually transmitted disease
  • Antibiotics for bacterial infections
  • Medications to treat the constipation and soften the stool to reduce the pain during defecation
  • Surgical resection of involved part of colonis 
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