There are several different tests used to determine whether or not a patient is affected by ulcerative colitis. Thankfully, the condition is pretty easy to diagnose because it typically affects only the rectum and colon and causes apparent changes in your bowel habits.
Before conducting any of these tests, your doc will talk about your medical history and perform a physical exam to make sure that ulcerative colitis is a possibility. If it is, then you will go on to enjoy either a colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy. These tests, while uncomfortable and not something for you to look forward to, examine the interior of your large intestine. Some of the time, these two tests are all that’s needed to diagnose ulcerative colitis. In other cases, you may need to undergo other tests including:
- Barium enema, which lets your doctor check out your colon via X-ray.
- Abdominal X-ray
- CT scan, another X-ray procedure
- Stool analysis to look for parasites, blood, white blood cells, or signs of bacterial infection
- MRI
Sure, these kinds of exams and tests aren’t fun. But they are imperative when diagnosing a condition such as ulcerative colitis. And only when you know what you’re dealing with can you take the necessary steps to treat it…right?
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