Joshua has a disease in which the walls of his small intestine have become painfully inflamed. his diagnosis is

Inflammatory bowel disease is condition that involves chronic inflammation in a portion or all parts of the digestive tract. It is often painful and debilitating which can be life-threatening and may lead to risk for colon cancer. With inflammatory bowel disease, the small and large intestines or bowels become inflamed (there is redness or swelling).

Its symptoms include: severe or chronic abdominal pain, diarrhea, sudden weight loss, lack of appetite or rectal bleeding.

It has two major types the ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The primary difference between the two is the parts of the digestive tracts that they affect. Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation and ulcers only the top layer of the large intestine. Whereas, Crohn's disease commonly affects the end of the small intestine (ileum) and the proximal part of the colon. Such inflammation causes swelling and scar tissue that thickens the intestinal wall.