• Anal Abscess
• Anal Cancer
• Anal Fissure
• Anal Fistula
• Anal Incontinence
• Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia (AIN)
• Anal Skin Tags
• Anal Warts
• Bowel Cancer
• Colonic Polyps
• Constipation
• Crohn's Disease
• Diverticular Disease
  • Symptoms
  • Investigations
  • Treatments
• Enterocele and sigmoidocele
• Haemorrhoids
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
• Internal rectal prolapse (intussusception)
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
• Obstructed Defaecation Syndrome
• Pilonidal Sinus
• Proctitis
• Pruritis Ani
• Rectal Prolapse
• Rectocele
• Solitary Rectal Ulcer Syndrome
• Ulcerative Colitis

Symptoms of Diverticular Disease

Diverticulae are common. For most people they don’t cause any symptoms and no treatment is required.
Some patients can experience pain in the left lower abdomen. This is not usually severe and tends to be crampy in nature.

Diverticulitis occurs when a diverticulum or diverticulae become infected. Pain and tenderness may develop usually in the left lower abdomen. This can be associated with feeling unwell and a fever. It is not uncommon to experience some change in bowel habit.

Sometimes the infection causing diverticulitis can lead to an abscess forming next to the bowel. This may result in more pain and tenderness, a high fever and chills.

Occasionally bleeding can occur from a diverticulum. There can be quite a lot of blood and this tends to be slightly darker in colour. Diverticular disease is a combination of an abnormal muscle and diverticula with one of the symptoms of the disease being significant bleeding from the colon.

Diverticulitis can occasionally lead to severe complications where an inflamed pocket or an abscess ruptures causing peritonitis within the abdomen. This is usually associated with more severe pain affecting the whole of the abdomen, it hurts to move, and the pain is often accompanied by vomiting.