December 1st – 7th is Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week! Designed to raise awareness and educate the public about inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and the 1 million people in America living with some form of the disease.

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are painful, medically incurable diseases that attack the digestive system, causing symptoms including abdominal pain, persistent diarrhea, rectal bleeding, fever, and weight loss. Crohn’s disease may attack anywhere along the digestive tract, while ulcerative colitis inflames only the large intestine (colon). In addition to the impact on the GI tract, in some patients, IBD may also affect the joints, skin, bones, kidneys, liver, and eyes.