Signs and symptoms of Crohn's Disease

Symptoms vary from person to person. The severity of the symptoms depends on disease activity, the location of the inflammation, the body’s own response to the disease and the influence of medications to fight the disease. These may include:

• diarrhoea or loose stools
• fever (sometimes in the form of night sweats)
• fatigue, tiredness
• anaemia (low blood count)
• nausea, vomiting
• cramps, abdominal pain
• fistulae, particularly perianal fistulae (connections or short cuts between the bowel and the skin or the bowel and other organs)
• skin tags
• weight loss
• mouth ulcers
• deep ulcers in the bowel or stomach
• growth can be affected with children.

Complications of Crohn's

There are complications both inside and outside the gut.  Within the gut complications include strictures, perforations and fistulae (see glossary of terms for more information on each). Complications outside the gut are less common but include:

• joints - inflammation of the large and small joints of the arms, legs, pelvis and spine. this can cause pain, swelling and restriction of normal movements in the joints affected. (arthritis, sacro-ileitis)
• skin - painful, red skin especially on the shins (erythema nodosum/pyoderma)
• eyes - painful, red, gritty watery eyes (iritis, conjunctivitis)
• liver abnormalities due to involvement of the cells (chronic active hepatitis) or bile ducts (primary sclerosing chonangitis)
• anaemia (low blood count)

Signs and symptoms of ulcerative colitis

Symptoms vary from person to person. The severity of the symptoms depends on disease activity, the location of the inflammation, the body’s own response to the disease and the influence of medications to fight the disease.  These may include:

• Diarrhoea/ loose stools often with mucus containing blood
• Feeling of being unable to completely empty the bowel
• bleeding from the bottom
• fatigue/ tiredness
• anaemia (low blood count)
• cramps, abdominal pain
• fever occurs in severe cases
• weight loss is less common than in Crohn’s disease.

Complications of Ulcerative Colitis

There are complications both inside and outside the gut.  Within the gut complications include strictures, perforations and fistulae (see glossary of terms for more information on each). Complications outside the gut are less common but include:

• joints - inflammation of the large and small joints of the arms, legs, pelvis and spine. this can cause pain, swelling and restriction of normal movements in the joints affected. (arthritis, sacro-ileitis)
• skin - painful, red skin especially on the shins (erythema nodosum/pyoderma)
• eyes - painful, red, gritty watery eyes (iritis, conjunctivitis)
• liver abnormalities due to involvement of the cells (chronic active hepatitis) or bile ducts (primary sclerosing chonangitis)
• anaemia (low blood count).