Aside from surgery, ulcerative colitis is managed with a nutrition plan, medications, and lifestyle changes (such as decreasing stress). There is additional information on the MGfC IBD website about the types of medications available to treat ulcerative colitis, as well as different nutrition strategies.

How Often Should My Child Have a Colonoscopy?

Children with ulcerative colitis (and Crohn’s disease) often will have colonoscopies when their symptoms increase and your doctor is discussing changing the treatment.

In addition, people with colitis (either from ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease) have an increased risk of colon cancer over the course of their lifetime. It is recommended to start screening colonoscopies 7 to 8 years after the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis (or Crohn’s disease of the large intestine) and to have them at regular intervals. This test should be done even if your child is feeling well. Factors that increase the risk of colon cancer are a larger area of inflammation, how long the inflammation has been there and some liver problems associated with colitis.

Learn more about ulcerative colitis