Is it IBS or IBD?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are often confused due to the shared symptoms of bowel problems and due to the abbreviation of their names. Although both disorders do in fact include bowel problems they are not the same.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is the most common chronic health disorder in the America. Treatment of IBS is geared toward modifying the motility of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and may involve diet changes, medicine, and stress relief.

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

Symptoms

Continuous or recurrent lower abdominal pain or cramping (from mild to severe)

in association with altered bowel motility (diarrhea, constipation, or both).

Attacks may strike suddenly at any time of day or night

Gas and bloating are common

Nausea due to pain

In women attacks are often associated with menstruation.

Note: Fever, Blood in stools, and joint pain in the extremities are NOT symptoms of IBS.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is not a single disease. IBD is any condition that results in excessive or uncontrolled inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Excessive inflammation in the gut can lead to Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's Disease. Both Colitis and Crohn's disease have much of the same treatment plans.

In Ulcerative Colitis the innermost lining of the colon and the rectum are affected. Controlling the inflammation allows the bowel to heal and in many cases, return to normal or near normal without a great amount of scarring.

In Crohn's disease the inflammation tends to penetrate from the inner lining, through the deeper layers of bowel to the outer surface. This can result in a hole or weak area in the bowel wall, which then can lead to abscesses in the abdominal cavity or fistulas from the bowel to other organs, the abdominal wall or even the skin.

Treatment of IBD may include diet changes, medicine, and surgery.

In some cases physicians cannot determine if the patient has Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's Disease and the patients are therefore diagnosed with Indeterminate Colitis.

IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease)

Symptoms

Ulcerative Colitis

Blood and mucus in the stools

Abdominal pain and cramping resulting in frequent diarrhea

An urgent need to move the bowels that cannot be delayed or false urges

Constipation

Intestinal Gas

Fatigue and Weight Loss

Crohn's Disease

Abdominal pain with or without bowel movements

Diarrhea

Ulcers and Abscesses

Strictures and Blockages

Fatigue and Weight Loss

Note: Both Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease can present with conditions outside of the intestine due to inflammation of other tissues - eyes, skin, joints, liver.

While both IBS and IBD do share some of the same symptoms it is important to realize that Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a syndrome but not a disease. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a disease that can put patients at risk for colon cancer and bone disease such as osteoporosis. Both can be debilitating if left untreated.

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