The first week of December is Crohns and Colitis Awareness Week. Crohns Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are two types of inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD. IBD is very different from irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, even though they sound similar.

Inflammatory bowel diseases are chronic diseases affecting the digestive system—they are incurable autoimmune diseases where the body attacks the tissues of the digestive system, resulting in symptoms that vary in severity depending on the person. [1] Both Crohn’s and Colitis