Know your IBD

Diet and IBD

A poor-quality diet may make it harder to control inflammation and your IBD symptoms. You may find that some dietary choices affect your gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, and your overall health.¹

You can learn more about diet for IBD here. Before making any changes to your diet, consult your doctor and an IBD Dietitian.

Impact of Stress

Stress may increase your chance of having flares and impact their severity. The gut and the mind are closely linked, so stress may have an impact on your IBD condition and symptoms.^2,3

Read more about stress and IBD here.

IBD vs IBS

While IBD and IBS may share some symptoms, they are very different conditions. IBD, which stands for inflammatory bowel disease, causes chronic inflammation and damage to the GI tract. IBD includes both Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC).⁴

On the other hand, IBS stands for irritable bowel syndrome and does not cause inflammation or damage to the GI tract.⁴

Impact of family history

IBD tends to run in families, with CD showing a greater genetic risk than UC. However, genetics is not the only reason why someone might have IBD.⁵

The exact cause of IBD is still unknown, though researchers believe that IBD develops due to a combination of both genetic and environmental factors.⁵

IBD affects more than the gut

Aside from GI symptoms, poorly-managed IBD may lead to symptoms beyond your gut. These symptoms could impact the health of your joints, skin, bones, eyes, kidneys and liver. Anaemia, or low iron levels, is another complication that people with IBD may experience.^6,7

IBD and mental health

Living with a long-term condition like IBD can take a toll on your mental health. IBD can cause not only physical symptoms but also emotional and social challenges that may feel overwhelming.²

Many people with IBD experience feelings of anxiety and depression, making it important to address mental health as part of IBD care.² Read more about getting mental health support here.

Getting IBD

The cause of IBD is unknown. IBD may run in families, but it's not contagious. So, you don't need to worry about giving it to your family members or getting it from someone you know who has it.^5,8

Navigating life with IBD

As a person living with IBD, you may have good and bad days. You may experience periods of flares when your symptoms become more severe.

However, between flares, you may feel relatively well and have few or no symptoms. This is called remission. It's important to work closely with your healthcare team to manage the inflammation associated with IBD and help prevent flares.⁹

Managing IBD

IBD can often be managed with medicine.¹⁰ Though, depending on the severity of your condition, surgery may be necessary.

Surgery may help to improve the quality of life for people with IBD significantly. In some cases, even after having surgery, additional treatments like physiotherapy or medicines may still be required to maintain remission.¹⁰

IBD and stoma

Not everyone with IBD will need surgery and not every IBD surgery will require you to have a stoma. A stoma, or a small opening in the abdomen (belly), allows waste to leave the body and be collected in a bag. It may be temporary or permanent and may help with recovery from surgery, in some cases.¹⁰

You should have the opportunity to discuss a stoma with your IBD healthcare team before surgery and clarify all the questions you may have.

Living a normal life with IBD

While there is no cure for IBD, medical treatments and lifestyle changes can go a long way in helping to manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life. Many people with IBD live productive and fulfilling lives.¹¹

Engaging in intimate relationships

IBD can affect more than your physical and mental health. People with IBD don't always feel their best, which may result in having low self-esteem or lack of interest to pursue intimate relationships.¹²

However, with an appropriate IBD management plan and open communication with your partner and healthcare team, you can engage in healthy and thriving relationships just like anybody else.¹²