5 Health Conditions Commonly Mistaken for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Published on November 13, 2025
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC) can have similar symptoms, which may also mimic other medical conditions. To understand how other health problems can look like IBD, it helps to understand the differences between the two main types of IBD.
For example, while Crohn’s and UC can both cause diarrhea, bleeding, and abdominal pain, UC inflammation is limited to the colon’s (large intestine) lining, says Stephen J. Bickston, MD, the associate chief of gastroenterology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health Medical Center in Richmond. “Bloody diarrhea is its most common presentation, and persistent bleeding from UC can cause anemia.”
Unlike UC, Crohn’s inflammation can affect any part of the digestive tract, from mouth to anus. It may reach deeper layers of the intestine, and can cause more varied symptoms than UC, says Dr. Bickston.
Because of symptom overlap between IBD and other gastrointestinal (GI) conditions, it can be difficult to tell which you have. But with the right diagnostic tests, your healthcare provider can pinpoint the source.
1. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a chronic disorder of gut-brain interaction, is caused by changes in the muscles and nerves that control sensation and movement in the digestive system.
“IBS is a diagnosis based on symptom patterns rather than discrete findings on imaging or pathology, but most of the symptoms that can be experienced with inflammatory bowel disease can also happen in IBS,” says Abby Lochmann-Bailkey, MD, a gastroenterologist with SSM Health in Madison, Wisconsin. But people with IBD can also have IBS, she says, which can make diagnosis tricky.
IBS symptoms include:
- Abdominal pain
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Bloating
- Gas pain
- Changes in bowel movement appearance
IBS almost never causes weight loss or bleeding, Bickston says. “It is also very unusual for the pain of IBS to awaken a person from sleep.”
Both IBS and IBD are lifelong conditions of the GI tract. But, unlike IBD, IBS does not involve the immune system or cause inflammation and symptoms in other parts of the body.
2. Celiac Disease
Celiac disease, like IBD, is a chronic autoimmune disorder of the digestive system, in which the immune system attacks the body instead of defending it when it’s exposed to the protein gluten. The inflammation that results can cause damage to the small intestine. Eating foods that contain gluten — like bread, pasta, and other foods made from wheat, barley, and rye — triggers the immune response, causing inflammation.
When you have celiac disease, you can experience a wide variety of symptoms that also occur in IBD, says Dr. Lochmann-Bailkey.
Symptoms of celiac disease include:
- Bloating
- Frequent diarrhea
- Constipation
- Excess gas
- Lactose intolerance
- Loose, greasy, foul-smelling bowel movements
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea and vomiting
“Celiac disease can be mistaken for IBD, especially as it often presents early in life and can cause anemia, weight loss, diarrhea, and vitamin deficiencies,” says Bickston. “This is a nuanced circumstance, as celiac disease is more common in people with IBD than the general public, so patients may have both.”
Celiac disease and IBD can both affect your body’s ability to absorb essential nutrients. But their causes differ: eating gluten triggers celiac’s immune response, whereas IBD triggers are more complex. Celiac causes damage to the lining of the small intestine, but IBD may damage other areas of the GI tract, too, as previously described.
3. Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids are swollen, inflamed veins around your anus or rectum. You can have internal hemorrhoids, which affect the lining of the lower part of your rectum and internal anus, or external hemorrhoids, which occur under the skin around your anus.
Common hemorrhoid symptoms include:
- Anal itching
- Tender lumps near your anus
- Pain in and around your anus that worsens with sitting
- Rectal bleeding
Symptoms like rectal bleeding can look similar to IBD, but your healthcare provider can help you figure out which you have.
“Hemorrhoids often present with intermittent rectal bleeding that might raise suspicion of ulcerative colitis, but it is rare for bleeding hemorrhoids to cause anemia,” says Bickston. “They are most likely to produce streaks or drops of red blood with normal-colored stool, rather than bloody diarrhea, as with [IBD].”
4. Infectious Diarrhea
Bacterial and fungal infections can cause diarrhea that may look similar to IBD symptoms. The most common diarrhea-causing pathogens include the bacteria salmonella, Mycobacterium, Shigella, Campylobacter jejuni, Yersinia enterocolitica, Clostridioides difficile, and E. coli, as well as the fungi Coccidioides and Histoplasma.
Symptoms of infectious diarrhea can include:
- Fever
- Bloody stools
- Stools with mucous
- Severe abdominal pain
Bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain may cause your healthcare provider to suspect an IBD. “Infectious diarrhea can start abruptly and can include blood in stools, which is why it is important to test stools for infection,” says Lochmann-Bailkey.
5. Segmental Colitis Associated With Diverticulosis (SCAD)
Segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis (SCAD) is a condition that causes inflammation in the lining of the colon. Diverticulosis is the condition of having small pouches form in the GI tract; they typically bulge out through the walls of your colon and can become inflamed. Having inflamed, infected, or torn diverticula is called diverticulitis.
Unlike diverticulitis, SCAD causes inflammation in the intestinal lining around those pouches, but not in the pouches themselves.
Symptoms of SCAD may include:
- Lower abdominal pain
- Chronic diarrhea
- Blood in your stool
SCAD can look similar to IBD in some imaging and other diagnostic tests, but isn’t mistaken for IBDs as often as other conditions, says Lochmann-Bailkey. Although they may share some symptoms, providers can quickly tell IBD apart from SCAD with other imaging tests or by using a scope to visualize the lining of the GI tract.
The Takeaway
- Several gastrointestinal conditions cause symptoms like abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea, which can sometimes be mistaken for an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
- The most common conditions that mimic IBD include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), celiac disease, hemorrhoids, infectious diarrhea, and segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis (SCAD).
- If you have any new gastrointestinal symptoms or a change in bowel habits, talk to your doctor, who can help confirm a diagnosis and create a treatment plan.
Resources We Trust
- Mayo Clinic: IBD or IBS: That Is the Question
- Cleveland Clinic: IBS Versus IBD – the Facts
- Crohn's & Colitis Foundation: IBD Mimics: Most Common Conditions Misdiagnosed as IBD
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Commonly Mistaken Conditions
- UCLA Health: Is It Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or Something Else?
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- Malter L. IBD Mimics: Most Common Conditions Misdiagnosed as IBD. Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. January 2020.
- McDowell C et al. Inflammatory Bowel Disease. StatPearls. August 4, 2023.
- Huebner E. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). American College of Gastroenterology. January 2022.
- Commonly Mistaken Conditions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. June 12, 2024.
- Celiac Disease. Cleveland Clinic. October 13, 2025.
- Symptoms & Causes of Celiac Disease. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. October 2020.
- Kori M et al. The Association of Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Coeliac Disease and Coeliac Autoimmunity in Children and Adults: A Nationwide Study from the epi-IIRN. Journal of Crohn's and Colitis. November 17, 2022.
- Hemorrhoids. MedlinePlus. November 13, 2023.
- Bornstein JE. Do You See Blood in Your Stool? Northwell Health Mather Hospital.
- Akhondi H et al. Bacterial Diarrhea. StatPearls. January 21, 2025.
- Sbarigia C et al. Common Diagnostic Challenges and Pitfalls in Segmental Colitis Associated With Diverticulosis (SCAD). Journal of Clinical Medicine. September 20, 2023.
- Nallapeta NS et al. Diverticulosis. StatPearls. April 16, 2023.
- Sakhalkar OV et al. Segmental Colitis Associated With Diverticulosis. Cureus. May 8, 2023.
Meet Our Experts
Rabia de Latour, MD
Medical Reviewer
Rabia de Latour, MD, is a therapeutic endoscopist and gastroenterologist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where she serves as the director of endoscopy and chief sustainability officer at Bellevue Hospital. She is the host of Sirius XM Doctor Radio Internal Medicine Show.
Abby McCoy, RN
Author
Abby McCoy is an experienced registered nurse who has worked with adults and pediatric patients encompassing trauma, orthopedics, home care, transplant, and case management. She is a married mother of four and loves the circus — that is her home! She has family all over the world, and loves to travel as much as possible.
McCoy has written for publications like Remedy Health Media, Sleepopolis, and Expectful. She is passionate about health education and loves using her experience and knowledge in her writing.