World IBD Day 2017
Tomorrow, the 19th of May 2017, is World IBD Day.
If you clicked on my blog post, I would guess you, a family member or a friend may have a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
IBD comes in two main forms, Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Both have many similarities but Ulcerative Colitis affects the colon and rectum. Crohn’s Disease affects the whole digestive system from the oesophagus to the rectum.
IBD impacts over 300,00 lives in the UK alone and it mainly causes inflammation of the digestive tract, formation of ulcers and loss of control over the bowels. There is no cure, it’s a lifelong “chronic illness” and there are many hurdles that some people have to face.
Before my 20’s I never saw awareness for IBD and now after living with Ulcerative Colitis for 3+ years, I still don’t see it as publicly spoken about. I’m very open about my condition but I’ve met people who are shocked by that. I find some would rather remain unaware whilst others embrace me and the condition.
My main focus of this post is to spread awareness and you can do that by wearing something purple. It doesn’t have to be full on as I know some people have work or school. Wear a purple hair tie, purple socks or tell people it’s World IBD Day and break the social “taboo on poo”.
I sometimes wonder why we can’t talk about bowel issues. With the perception of being “unladylike” or “disgusting”, most people will of had a bout of diarrhoea. Or even have changed a child’s nappy in their lifetime.
I have written many blog posts about my journey with Ulcerative Colitis. If you are interested you can click here to read them.
As always, thanks for reading…
