There are several types of colitis, conditions that cause an inflammation of the bowel. These include:
• Infectious colitis.
• Ulcerative colitis (cause not known).
• Crohn’s disease (cause not known).
• Ischemic colitis (caused by not enough blood going to the colon).
• Radiation colitis (after radiotherapy).
Colitis causes diarrhea, rectal bleeding, abdominal cramps, and urgency (frequent and immediate need to empty the bowels). Treatment depends on the diagnosis, which is made by colonoscopy and biopsy.