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Charity

Crohn’s & Colitis UK

by Victoria Bottomley

• Published 22/06/2023

Crohn’s & Colitis UK is a UK charity dedicated to Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and other forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD is inflammation and ulceration of the digestive system, which causes various symptoms including abdominal pain, bleeding, anaemia, depression, osteoporosis, weight loss, joint pain, skin rashes, mouth ulcers, fatigue and many more. Severity varies during flare ups and remission, and the role of treatments is to keep patients in remission for as long as possible and symptoms controlled. There is currently no cure.

Every 30 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis, and around 1 in 4 of those people are under the age of 16. A diagnosis can be daunting and the nature of both conditions makes them hard to deal with in day to day life. Crohn’s & Colitis UK work hard to raise awareness for patients, and their friends and families, to ease the hardships that come with the conditions, and fund research to find a cure. They also work with the UK health sector to improve diagnosis, treatment and management of IBD.

As a sufferer myself, I fully understand the importance of a support network and speaking to others who are going through similar experiences. Crohn’s & Colitis UK provide this by organising charity fundraising events and campaigns you can get involved in, and with their local networking groups who with the support of the charity, independently arrange their own meetings and events locally. Their website is also a great source of information, and has up-to-date articles and research.

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Most people with IBD carry a ‘Can’t Wait Card’ which allows them to discreetly ask to access toilet facilities, urgently. This is one of the main symptoms of IBD, and fear of being unable to access these facilities when needed is still one of the major causes of patients avoiding public settings, and becoming isolated and depressed. These are provided by the charity.

Many patients have reported receiving abuse when accessing disabled facilities, as their disability is not obvious to the public. Crohn’s & Colitis UK have successfully fought to normalise the use of disabled toilets for people with invisible disabilities through the ‘Not Every Disability is Visible’ campaign. You may have seen updated signage on disabled toilets in large chain supermarkets and leisure facilities, which has had a hugely positive impact.

Right now, around 500,000 people in the UK are living with a lifelong disease many people have never heard of, and the work of Crohn’s & Colitis UK is more important than ever. For more information on this fantastic charity, you can visit their website crohnsandcolitis.org.uk