Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or colitis is a general term now used for the two diseases of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, which can produce similar symptoms of pain in the abdomen, weight loss, tiredness and diarrhoea which can sometimes contain blood or mucus. These are serious conditions which need investigating by your doctor, and it is important to treat the underlying condition and not just the symptoms. The books below are excellent sources of information. It is important to distinguish inflammatory bowel diseases from diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or bowel cancer.