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Inflammatory Bowel Disease Health Center

IBD Overview

Inflammatory bowel disease or IBD includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which causes inflammation in the digestive tract. The causes of IBD are unknown. Inflammatory bowel disease symptoms include abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea, and fever. Other symptoms of IBD include weight loss. The goal of IBD treatment is to suppress inflammation.

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Symptoms

The symptoms of ulcerative colitis may include:

  • Diarrhea or rectal urgency. Some people may have diarrhea 10 to 20 times a day. The urge to go to the bathroom may wake you up at night.
  • Rectal bleeding. Ulcerative colitis usually causes bloody diarrhea and mucus. You also may have rectal pain and an urgent need to empty your bowels.
  • Abdominal (belly) pain, often described as cramping. Your abdomen may be sore when touched.
  • Constipation. This symptom may develop depending on what part of the colon is affected. Constipation is much less common than diarrhea.
  • Loss of appetite.
  • Fever. In severe cases, fever or other symptoms that affect the entire body may develop.
  • Weight loss. Ongoing (chronic) symptoms, such as diarrhea, can lead to weight loss.
  • Too few red blood cells (anemia). Some people develop anemia because of low iron levels caused by bloody stools or intestinal inflammation.