Symptoms of Diverticulitis

Symptoms of Diverticulosis are difficult to spot as they are usually non existent. This condition will rarely physically affect a person until it progresses to Diverticulitis. In saying that, there are early warning signs which may include

• bloating
  
• constipation and
  
• mild cramps

The problem being that these symptoms can also be related to other conditions such as stomach ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and because of this, a doctor should be consulted before making a self-diagnosis.

Common signs for a person to look out for if they feel they are at risk of developing diverticulitis are:

• Vomiting
  
• Nausea
  
• Chills
  
• Fever
  
• Abdominal pain or tenderness, usually in the left side
  
• Constipation/diarrhea
  
• Bloating
  
• flatulence

The severity of the symptoms will correlate with the severity of the infection present. In some cases where an infected or inflamed Diverticula is particularly close to a blood vessel, blood may become present in stools and if this continues and the amount of blood increases a patient runs the risk of becoming anaemic.

The symptoms are similar to that of bowel cancer and once again it is recommended that a doctor be sought for advice and diagnosis of the condition.

If left untreated symptoms can expand to:

• extended constipation
  
• constant vomiting
  
• abdominal pain increasing
  
• burning sensation when urinating and
  
• bleeding from the rectum

Once these symptoms are present it is quite possible that a complication has occurred and a specialist may need to be involved.