Proctitis, as the name implies, is the inflammation of the rectum. It is coined from 2 Greek words, "Procto" and "itis", which means rectum and inflammation, respectively. Proctitis may be acute or chronic. Acute proctitis is commonly gotten through a sexually transmitted infection (STI), while inflammatory bowel disease might accompany chronic proctitis.
You may notice rectum inflammation if the inner lining is irritated by chemicals or bacteria or due to an inflammatory bowel disease. This might be uncomfortable and cause you to bleed from your rectum, pain and discomfort, or changes in your poop.
Book us onlineProctitis may be acute, meaning it might be short or temporary, and you may also have chronic proctitis, meaning the disease stays for a long time. An individual's type of proctitis might be named according to the different causes. For example, radiation therapy is responsible for radiation proctitis, ulcerative colitis causes ulcerative proctitis, and STIs are responsible for infectious proctitis.
You may notice any of the following symptoms if you have proctitis:
The earliest signs of proctitis might be experienced when you want to empty your bowel. You may notice cramping, tenderness or burning when you want to poop. You may have a continuous urge to want to use the bathroom even if you just pooped or have trouble emptying your bowels. You may also notice bleeding or mucus in your poop as an early sign of proctitis.
The causes of proctitis vary and can be divided into common and less common causes. Some common causes of proctitis include:
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs): Bacterial and viral sexually transmitted infections can make their way to the rectum through your anus. Some of these infections include:
These infections can affect men and women who have anal sexual intercourse.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease can cause chronic or severe inflammation in your bowels. One-third of the population that experience IBD may have proctitis. This is the most common cause of proctitis.
Gastrointestinal infections: Bacterial infections caused by food poisoning in the intestine may affect your rectum, including:
Clostridiodes difficile (C. diff) can affect your rectum and intestines if you have just finished a treatment course of antibiotics. This bacteria naturally dwells in your intestine, but antibiotics can disturb gut microbiome balance and kill off other bacteria that usually control C. diff.
Radiation therapy: This is a common treatment for cancer and can lead to radiation mucositis in your gastrointestinal tract. This means that the inner mucous lining of your gastrointestinal tract gets inflamed. You may also notice radiation colitis or radiation enteritis if radiation is directed at your lower or upper abdomen. If the radiation is targeted at your pelvic area, you may get radiation proctitis.
Protein allergies from infant food: Infants who are lactose intolerant (commonly dairy milk) or intolerant to soy may have inflammation in any part of their intestines, including their rectum.
During breastfeeding or when giving your baby infant formulas, they may ingest these proteins if the breastfeeding mother consumes them.
Anorectal trauma: This is when a chemical or foreign material is inserted in your anus, leading to rectal and anal inflammation.
Diversion proctitis: You may notice this side effect in people who have undergone ileostomy or colostomy, which diverted poop away from the rectum. When poop is being diverted from the rectum, it might be deprived of short-chain fatty acids and nutrients that generally keep the rectum healthy and lubricated. This can lead to proctitis, but only a few have symptoms.
Intestinal ischemic syndromes: Ischemic proctitis happens when the bloodflow to your rectum is obstructed, causing oxygen deprivation. You may experience ischemia when plaque, aneurysm, or blood clots block your blood vessels.
Idiopathic proctitis: A small percentage of people affected by idiopathic proctitis may not have a direct cause for this. About 1 in every 10 cases of idiopathic proctitis progresses into ulcerative colitis. Some others may experience idiopathic proctitis due to changes in their diet. It occurs in repetitive episodes similar to a chronic condition.
Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGID): Eosinophilia is a condition whereby the white blood cells produced by your body are abnormally high. In EGID, the immune system responds by sending a very high amount of eosinophils to certain parts of the gastrointestinal tract, leading to chronic inflammation in those areas. This condition is common among children below 2.
In most cases, proctitis is not life-threatening, and most people respond well to treatment. However, it may lead to complications if:
Complications from long-term inflammation may include:
There are rare cases of complications involving your nervous system. They may include:
During your visit to your healthcare professional, you might be asked about your symptoms, and a physical examination of your rectum might be carried out to check for signs of proctitis. This can either be through anoscopy or a digital rectal exam. If you likely have proctitis, you will be asked further questions to get an idea of the type of proctitis and what might have caused it.
If you have proctitis, it may disappear without treatment, but there is no need to choose this option. If you are infected with proctitis, your healthcare provider will administer antivirals or antibiotics to speed up healing. If your proctitis is not infectious, your healthcare practitioner might use steroids to treat this inflammation. For people with radiation proctitis, it will clear after several weeks once your radiation therapy is over, but you can apply topical pain medicine to help in the meantime. If IBD causes your proctitis, the proctitis may appear and disappear without treatment, but treatment can help clear inflammation.
This might differ based on the individual and the cause. With treatment, the proctitis will go away faster. On average, it may take between 4 to 6 weeks to heal after the cause of the inflammation has been treated. You can consider taking over-the-counter medications for diarrhoea or pain during your healing period.
Treatment depends on the severity and cause of the proctitis. Treatment may include:
Yes, proctitis can sometimes be prevented by taking specific measures. STIs can be prevented by using protection and screening your sexual partners before having sexual intercourse with them. The use of condoms can protect you from some infections, but certain infections are transmitted orally, so always use dental dams to reduce your chances of contracting STIs orally. Your risk of gastrointestinal infections can be reduced by being mindful of what you eat, especially abroad. Sadly, there is no way to prevent radiation proctitis or IBD.
The majority of proctitis cases respond properly to treatment. If you have acute proctitis, it should clear within months in infants and 4 to 8 weeks in adults. For people with chronic proctitis linked with IBD, the inflammation may appear and disappear. You can use inflammatory medications for the inflammations. People with chronic proctitis cases may have complications, and this makes it quite tricky to treat.
Once you notice symptoms of proctitis, schedule an appointment with a healthcare professional. This can help you diagnose proctitis early and get treated. If you begin treatment and don't see improvements, inform your medical practitioner about changes or progress. There are a few cases where people don't respond to treatments, and they may need to undergo surgery, but this rarely occurs.
If you notice any symptoms of proctitis, don't hesitate to schedule an appointment with our medical practitioner at STI Clinic UK. We will provide a diagnosis in our comfortable, confidential and discreet medical facility. Reach out to us right away to get tested and begin treatment.