Mercy Gastroenterologist Dr. Matilda Hagan Discusses Diagnosis and Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis
August 8, 2017
Ulcerative colitis is one of two types of inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn's disease is the other one.
The symptoms of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's are very similar, and they resemble other, less serious conditions like irritable bowel syndrome.
According to gastroenterologist Dr. Matilda Hagan of The Institute for Digestive Health and Liver Disease at Mercy Medical Center, the symptoms to watch for include abdominal pain, an urgency to go, fever and weight loss, but a tell-tale sign a person has ulcerative colitis is bloody diarrhea.
"Certainly, the blood is a big tip off. And then the other part of it is, some people may wake up at night from sleep with the urge to have a bowel movement. That's also a big sign that it's something perhaps more serious that requires investigation," Dr. Hagan said.
Dr. Hagan noted that ulcerative colitis is diagnosed with a colonoscopy and is treated with various classed medications, depending on the severity of the disease.
View Mercy gastroenterologist Dr. Matilda Hagan’s interview regarding diagnosis and treatment of ulcerative colitis.
About Mercy
Founded in 1874 in downtown Baltimore by the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Medical Center is a 183-licensed bed acute care university-affiliated teaching hospital. Mercy has been recognized as a top Maryland hospital by U.S. News & World Report; a Top 100 hospital for Women’s Health & Orthopedics by Healthgrades; is currently A-rated for Hospital Safety (Leapfrog Group), and is recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Magnet Hospital. Mercy Medical Center is part of Mercy Health Services (MHS), the parent of Mercy’s primary care and specialty care physician enterprise, known as Mercy Personal Physicians, which employs more than 200 providers with locations in Baltimore, Lutherville, Overlea, Glen Burnie, Columbia and Reisterstown. For more information about Mercy, visit www.mdmercy.com, MDMercyMedia on Facebook, Twitter, or call 1-800-MD-Mercy.
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