Signs of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

See your health care provider if you see blood in the stool, have a change in bowel habits lasting longer than 10 days, or if you have any of the following symptoms that do not improve with over-the-counter medicines.

• Severe abdominal cramps or pain
• Severe diarrhea or bloody diarrhea
• Weight loss
• Unexplained fever lasting more than 1 or 2 days
• Extreme fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea

Although ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease usually are not fatal, they can cause serious problems. Sometimes symptoms are bad enough that a person has to be hospitalized. For example, a person may have severe diarrhea that causes dehydration and needs to be treated with fluids through his/her vein.