Unfortunately Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis are not a disease that kids will outgrow but many children do have long periods, sometimes years, with no symptoms. Inflammatory bowel disease symptoms can be unpredictable and may vary in severity, consequently some children have long absences from school. This can be for medical appointments, illness, disease flare-ups and side effects of treatment.
Painful cramps, chronic diarrhea, nausea and vomiting make it difficult sitting through classes or getting to and from school. Sometimes they just can't get the nourishment they need and have to go to the hospital where nutrients are fed to them through an intravenous feeding drip.
Characteristics of Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis in Children & Teens
The location and characteristics of Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis often differ in young people compared to adults. Older children and teenagers with Crohn’s disease are usually affected at the end of the small intestine. In children under 6 years, inflammation is typically limited to the large intestine. The inflammation is more likely to spread or extend into other areas of the digestive tract.
Over 60% of children have perianal Crohn’s disease and children with ulcerative colitis are more likely to have more extensive disease than adults diagnosed with the condition. Over 70% of children and teens diagnosed with ulcerative colitis have pancolitis, where the whole large intestine is inflamed.
Crohn’s disease in children tends to have more complications than adults while children with ulcerative colitis are more than twice as likely as adults to need surgery in the first two years after diagnosis. Being a teenager with IBD poses even greater emotional and social challenges.
