Recognising Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Symptoms

Sometimes, people, particularly young people, delay seeking medical attention for inflammatory bowel disease because they believe that they will remain healthy and that any symptoms they experience are likely due to simple conditions that are probably not long lasting. Although some people feel that the symptoms are suspicious, they may deny the possibility of having a serious chronic disease, especially if they already have a family history of IBD, and do not wish to face the possibility that they, too, are going to have to live with this disease. In some cases, the delay in diagnosis may be due to a general lack of knowledge on the part of the individual about what constitutes abnormal or unacceptable symptoms or due to embarrassment that they may feel in discussing their symptoms. Very occasionally, a delay in diagnosis may occur when a physician discounts a patient's description of symptoms or misses important clinical clues toward making the diagnosis.

 

For most people, any delay between the time symptoms begin and the time they ask their doctor for advice is due to the gradual change from a state of good health to a state of illness or disease. There are likely very few individuals with IBD who do not eventually undergo evaluation and have a diagnosis of Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis confirmed.