TV PRESENTER Dr Dawn Harper has launched an Irish campaign to help people with the debilitating and common condition, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Dr Harper, who presents Embarrassing Bodieson Channel 4, said the symptoms, which include bloody diarrhoea and rectal bleeding, were a real deterrent to sufferers who need to go to their GP.
IBD is the term for a number of conditions, the most common of which are colitis and Crohn’s disease. It is frequently confused with irritable bowel syndrome, which is a different illness.
IBD affects about 20,000 people in the Republic, but is a relatively little known disease because of the stigma attached to it.
People exhibiting symptoms have frequently featured on the popular television programme which attracts an average of four million viewers a week.
Dr Harper said conditions affecting the bowel and bladder were the “last taboo of embarrassment” for many patients.
“I would say to people who have the symptoms that GPs are not going to be embarrassed, no matter what illness you present with,” she said.
“If you have the symptoms of IBD, you will not be the first person or the last person to present with it.”
Dr Harper visited Dublin to launch a campaign on behalf of the Irish Society of Colitis and Crohn’s Disease, in conjunction with pharmaceutical company Abbott, to highlight the condition and raise awareness for potential sufferers.
A European-wide survey of IBD patients found the overwhelming majority suffered from diarrhoea, urgency of bowel movements, abdominal cramping and fatigue during a flair-up. A total of 71 per cent experienced rectal bleeding.
Nine out of 10 were hospitalised over the past five years and 77 per cent have had to take time off work in the past year.
IDB, which has no known cause or cure, is most common in people in their 20s and is a life-long condition, but there are treatments available to deal with the symptoms.
Consultant gastroenterologist Prof Colm O’Morain said presenting with symptoms was important because the condition could take two years to diagnose.
He stressed that while the symptoms could be severe, there were a number of drug treatments available and the prognosis for a normal life was much more promising nowadays.
“The symptoms are definitely embarrassing. People are loathe to mention it in polite company. Despite the illnesses, young people are resilient and get on with life. A positive attitude is very important,” he said.
