Symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Medically reviewed by:

Dr Eddie Roche - Medical Officer

Updated: Aug 18, 2021

Next review: Aug 18, 2022

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is used to refer to two conditions; Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. It is a long-term condition that causes inflammation of the digestive tract.

Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the digestive tract, while ulcerative colitis only affects the large intestine (colon).

The symptoms of IBD can vary from person to person, with some people experiencing mild discomfort and long periods between flare ups, where the condition is active. Others suffer from more severe IBD symptoms and more regular flare ups, or constant symptoms, which can be very painful and may require medical help to ease them.

The most common symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease can include:

Repeated bouts of diarrhoea - usually mixed with mucus or blood
Extreme tiredness
Tummy pain
Swelling of the stomach
Weight loss
Loss of appetite
Anaemia
Generally feeling unwell
Mouth ulcers

The symptoms for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s disease are similar, but there are some differences you can look out for:

The main symptoms of ulcerative colitis include:

Repeated bouts of diarrhoea – usually mixed with mucus or blood
Pain in your tummy
Tiredness and Fatigue
Weight loss and not feeling like eating
Anaemia

If you are experiencing a flare up, you may also have painful joints, that may also be swollen. You may also have itchy, red eyes, mouth ulcers or pailful swollen skin on your legs (though it can affect other areas).

The symptoms of Crohn’s disease can include:

Recurring diarrhoea – usually mixed with mucus or blood
Tummy pain and cramps
Being very tired
Feeling or being too sick
Weight loss
A fever
Red, itchy eyes
Swollen or painful joints
Mouth ulcers
Areas of painful, swollen red skin, often on your legs

When you have IBD, there may be some foods that trigger your symptoms, or you may find it difficult to digest certain food. It may help you to adjust your diet, or avoid the foods that can aggravate your condition, but everyone is different, so you’ll need to work out what works for you. Keeping a food diary is a good way of doing this.

Stress, missing medication, antibiotics or certain types of medication you are taking can also trigger a flare up. Avoiding these triggers can reduce the instances of flare ups in IBD.

Find out more about the treatment of IBD.

NHS, Overview, Ulcerative colitis, 17/03/2016.
nhs.uk/conditions/ulcerative-colitis/#Symptoms
NHS, Crohn's Disease: Symptoms, 04/04/2018.
nhs.uk/conditions/crohns-disease/symptoms/
Crohns and Colitis Organisation, What are the Smptoms?, 01/06/2017.
crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/about-inflammatory-bowel-disease/what-are-the-symptoms

Symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Dr Eddie Roche - Medical Officer

IBD symptoms

Ulcerative colitis symptoms

Crohn’s disease symptoms

Food and other IBD triggers

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