Diverticular disease and bleeding

These pages describe pouches in the colon and two problems those pouches can lead to: inflammation, and bleeding. They do not identify which problem a person has. ahem has not examined anyone and does not sell a treatment. Hemorrhoid bleeding is a different description, on when rectal bleeding should be checked.

NIDDK last reviewed its definition page in August 2021. Opened October 29, 2026, it says diverticulosis occurs when small pouches form and push outward through weak spots in the colon wall, mostly in the lower part called the sigmoid colon. One pouch is a diverticulum. Many are diverticula. Most people with these pouches have no symptoms. Diverticulitis is when the pouches become inflamed, and it can come on suddenly. Diverticular disease, on that page, is when the pouches lead to chronic symptoms, diverticular bleeding, or diverticulitis and its complications.

Mayo Clinic dates its diverticulitis symptoms page October 22, 2024. It says the colon wall is typically smooth, and that an irregular bulging pouch is a diverticulum. It says diverticula are common, especially after age 50, are usually in the lower colon, and most often do not cause problems. The presence of pouches is diverticulosis, which it says is not a disease condition. Diverticulitis is inflammation of the pouches and can cause severe pain, fever, nausea, and changes in stool habits.

On the definition page opened October 29, 2026, NIDDK says more than 30 percent of U.S. adults between ages 50 and 59, and more than 70 percent of those older than age 80, have diverticulosis. It says most people with diverticulosis never develop symptoms or problems. Less than 5 percent of people with diverticulosis develop diverticulitis. In the United States, about 200,000 people are hospitalized for diverticulitis each year, and about 71,000 people are hospitalized for diverticular bleeding each year. Among people younger than 50, NIDDK says diverticulitis is more common in men. Among people 50 and older, it says diverticulitis is more common in women.

Cleveland Clinic updated its diverticulitis page on April 10, 2023. Opened October 29, 2026, it says diverticulitis affects about 4 percent of people with diverticulosis, and that once a person has had it, there is a 20 percent chance of getting it again. It also says diverticulitis is uncomplicated 80 percent of the time. Mayo Clinic says about 15 percent of people with diverticulitis develop complications. The less-than-5 percent line and the about-4 percent line are both about developing diverticulitis among people who have pouches. The 15 percent line is about complications among people who already have diverticulitis. The 20 percent line is Cleveland Clinic's chance of a repeat episode. They were not averaged.

NIDDK's symptoms page, also last reviewed in August 2021 and opened October 29, 2026, says diverticulitis may cause abdominal pain, most often in the lower left side, constipation or diarrhea, fevers and chills, and nausea or vomiting. It says the pain is typically severe and comes on suddenly, although it may be mild and worsen over several days. That symptom list does not include rectal bleeding. The definition page treats diverticular bleeding as its own problem: a small blood vessel within the wall of a pouch bursts. NIDDK says this bleeding is a common cause of bleeding in the lower digestive tract and may be severe and life-threatening.

Mayo Clinic's symptom list is pain, most often in the lower left abdomen, usually sudden and intense, plus nausea, fever, tenderness when the abdomen is touched, and changes in stool, including sudden diarrhea or constipation. Bleeding is not in that symptom list. In the complication list, Mayo Clinic names bleeding from ruptured blood vessels, which it also calls diverticular hemorrhage, along with an abscess, blockage, a fistula, and a tear that lets waste spill and cause peritonitis. Cleveland Clinic's symptom list does include rectal bleeding, with abdominal pain that is often severe, a distended abdomen, fever, nausea and vomiting, and constipation or, less commonly, diarrhea. It says bleeding from diverticula can be severe and lead to anemia. The shared pain description is lower abdominal pain with fever and a change in stool. Whether bleeding sits in the symptom list or in a separate bleeding description depends on the page.

Cleveland Clinic adds that in people of European descent the pain is usually in the lower left abdomen, and that in people of Asian descent diverticulosis is more often in the first part of the colon, which can cause upper abdominal pain. That location split is Cleveland Clinic's, on the page updated April 10, 2023. NIDDK and Mayo Clinic describe lower-left pain and do not print that split.

Mayo Clinic's treatment page, also dated October 22, 2024 and opened October 29, 2026, says a clinician examines the abdomen and may order blood tests, a urine test, a stool test, and a CT scan, which can show inflamed pouches, abscesses, fistulas, or other complications. If symptoms are mild and there are no complications, it says treatment may be at home: a liquid diet, then low-fiber foods as symptoms improve, then a regular high-fiber diet, sometimes a fiber supplement, and sometimes antibiotics that should be finished even after the person feels better. Serious symptoms or signs of complications are more likely to mean a hospital stay and intravenous antibiotics. Surgery on the colon comes up for complicated disease, a rupture, a fistula, serious tissue damage, multiple episodes, or a weakened immune system.

Cleveland Clinic says mild uncomplicated diverticulitis can go away on its own, and that a person should still see a clinician. If the clinician agrees to home care, it describes a liquid diet, antibiotics when prescribed, and acetaminophen for pain. It says to avoid nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and it names aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen, because they can increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. It says home recovery takes about a week. That week is Cleveland Clinic's sentence, checked October 29, 2026. Mayo Clinic does not print a one-week recovery. Mayo Clinic says a colonoscopy may be recommended six weeks or longer after diverticulitis symptoms are gone, depending on the last colonoscopy and how serious the episode was. The week and the six weeks are different clocks.

NIDDK's symptoms page lists diets low in fiber and high in red meat, little physical activity, NSAIDs and steroids, obesity, and smoking among factors that may increase the risk of diverticulitis or complications. A hemorrhoid fiber target, with its own gram figure, is on fiber for hemorrhoids. The diverticulitis pages opened today do not print that gram figure.

Mayo Clinic's prevention list is regular vigorous exercise, a high-fiber diet with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, and beans, cutting back on red meat and sweets, a healthy weight, plenty of fluids, and quitting smoking and limiting alcohol. It says that in the past, people with diverticulitis were told to avoid nuts, seeds, and popcorn, and that studies have shown these foods do not increase the risk of diverticulitis. Cleveland Clinic says that older advice about seeds and nuts getting stuck is considered mostly a myth today, and that seeds and nuts are useful sources of fiber. Those two sentences agree that the pages no longer tell readers to avoid seeds and nuts. They do not add a gram target.