Treatment for ulcerative colitis aims to reduce the symptoms. This can mean entering a period of remission, where you may experience no symptoms at all. At this time, the goal of treatment is to maintain this remission for as long as possible.¹

The type of treatment you will be offered will depend on the severity of the disease. 

• Mild disease is classified as when you have four or fewer stools per day (with or without blood). There is an absence of “systemic symptoms”, meaning that there will be no other obvious symptoms, and your inflammatory markers will read as normal on blood tests.
• In moderate disease, you have four stools per day, and there are minimal symptoms.
• If your UC is classed as severe, you will have six or more stools per day where blood is present. You will also have an elevated heart rate and a high temperature.

References

1. NHS – Ulcerative colitis – Treatment. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ulcerative-colitis/treatment/. Last accessed April 2025.