Crohn's disease attack: recognising a flare and getting help

A flare may involve more frequent diarrhoea, cramping or abdominal pain, urgency, tiredness, poor appetite or blood in the stool. The pattern can differ depending on which part of the digestive tract is affected. Similar symptoms can also have other causes, so a change from your usual baseline deserves a clinical review rather than a diagnosis based on symptoms alone.

Keeping a simple record of bowel movements, pain, temperature, food and fluids can help a clinician judge how active the problem may be.

Follow your personalised flare plan if you have one, including prescribed medicines. Do not start, stop or double a medicine unless your care team has told you to do so. Take small, regular drinks and choose foods you can tolerate while symptoms are active. Contact your GP or specialist team early if the plan is not helping, medicines are running out, or you cannot maintain normal hydration.

Seek urgent medical help for severe or rapidly increasing abdominal pain, a swollen or rigid abdomen, repeated vomiting, faintness, heavy rectal bleeding, confusion or inability to keep fluids down. Prompt advice is also needed for persistent fever or a marked change in diarrhoea. Do not wait for a routine appointment when these warning signs appear.

Ask your doctor how your flare plan works, which symptoms should trigger a same-day call, whether you need a blood test, and when to review treatment if symptoms settle only briefly.