context: When you have ulcerative colitis ( UC), you'll definitely take medicine to help manage it. There are several kinds your doctor will consider, depending on what you need. Most people with UC take prescription drugs called aminosalicylates (or â5- ASAsâ) that tame inflammation in the gut. These include balsalazide ( Colazal), mesalamine ( Asacol HD, Delzicol), olsalazine ( Dipentum), and sulfasalazine ( Azulfidine). Which one you take, and whether it is taken by mouth or as an enema or suppository, depend on the area of your colon that's affected. As long as you avoid your triggers, these may be enough if your disease is mild to moderate. You may need something else if your condition is more severe or if those standard treatments stop working. Your doctor may consider other medicines. Some people may also need surgery. Corticosteroids -- which your doctor may refer to as budesonide, hydrocortisone, methylprednisolone, or prednisone -- are often called âsteroidsâ for short. They aren't the kind of steroids some people misuse to gain muscle, so you won't bulk up. These turn down your immune system to fight inflammation. You can take them as pills, through an IV, or with an enema or suppositories. Your doctor may prescribe these to get you through a flare. But steroids aren't a long-term solution, because they can cause side effects like: Weight gain Acne High blood pressure High blood sugar Mood swings Bone loss They also don't prevent future flares. So it's best to use them only for a short time and at the lowest dose that helps. Other types of medicines for ulcerative colitis target your immune system, too. Your doctor may call these immunomodulators. They may be good options if 5- ASAs and corticosteroids haven't worked well for you. The most common ones are azathioprine ( Azasan, Imuran) and mercaptopurine ( Purinethol, Purixan), and cyclosporine ( Gengraf, Neoral, and Sandimmune). Due to the risk of side effects, doctors usually save cyclosporine for people who don't have success with other meds. The goal is to lower inflammation in your colon. These drugs can have side effects. They can damage your liver and make you more likely to get skin cancers, lymphoma, and infections. If you take them, your doctor will test your blood and check you for skin cancer regularly. Cyclosporine is especially strong, but it works fast. Your doctor might prescribe it to get a severe flare under control, and then give you 6- MP or azathioprine afterward. The drug may cause kidney problems, gout, infections, and high blood pressure. It can take several months for some of these drugs to work. So your doctor may give you a faster-acting medicine, like a low dose of a corticosteroid, to help in the meantime. â Biologicâ drugs also work on the immune system, but in a different way. They have very specific targets, instead of the whole immune system. Many biologics for ulcerative colitis pinpoint tumor necrosis factor ( TNF), which causes inflammation. Your doctor may call these âanti- TNFâ drugs. They include adalimumab ( Humira) and biosimilar drugs adalimumab-adbm ( Cyltezo) and adalimumab-atto ( Amjevita); golimumab ( Simponi); infliximab ( Remicade) and biosimilars infliximab-abda ( Renflexis) and infliximab-dyyb ( Inflectra); and vedolizumab ( Entyvio). Your doctor can give them to you in a shot or through an IV. When you take biologics, you're more likely to get tuberculosis, fungal infections, certain kinds of cancers, and other conditions. Your doctor will check for tuberculosis and other infections before prescribing one of these medications, and keep a close watch on how you're doing while you take them. The FDA recently approved the expanded use of a drug, tofacitinib ( Xeljanz), to include use by adults with moderately to severely active UC. This medication is the first to be taken by mouth for long-term treatment for this condition.