IT MAY not be the chosen topic of conversation at a dinner party but inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, is a condition more of us should probably know about.

Potentially life-threatening, IBD can affect anyone at any time in their lives, and seems to be affecting more younger people.

But a new service in Colchester means those who suffer from IBD can access help and advice through a telephone helpline and visit a specialist nurse at clinics at Colchester General Hospital and Clacton Hospital.

Joy Mason is the first specialist nurse for IBD at the hospital and the only specialist IBD nurse in the immediate area.

Joy, 37, said it is time people understood what IBD was all about.

She said: “There has been a stigma about talking about bowels and stools and people do not necessarily open up. I also think a lot of people get confused between IBD and irritable bowel syndrome, IBS, which is a changing of bowel habits but can be controlled with diet and is normally stress-induced.

“IBD can be life threatening, with some patients losing a lot of blood which could require surgery. There is also a link between IBD and bowel cancer.”

A qualified nurse since 1993, Joy is from the Phillipines and has worked at Colchester Generfal Hospital on the Wivenhoe ward since 2000.

IBD is the name given to two separate conditions – ulcerative colitis (UCS) and Crohn’s Disease.

People are generally diagnosed with IBD between the ages of ten and 40, and it affects both male and female in equal measure.

UCS affects a large portion of the bowel and large intestine and with surgery, a large portion of the bowel can be removed and the patient is generally fine.

But Crohn’s Disease needs to be controlled with medication and once you have it, you have it for the rest of your life.

Crohn’s affects the entire gastro-intestinal system and is a chronic condition. It dampens the immune system and is thought to be triggered by genetic and environmental factors ,although no cause has been discovered yet and there is ongoing research into it.

Worryingly, Crohn’s seems to be on the rise among young people, said Joy.

Statistics have only just started to be collected on the number of people with IBD, but it is thought one in 400 people nationally have it and about 500 people in the north east Essex area currently suffer with it.

Joy said: “There are periods when it will flare up. My job is to make sure people who have either condition can function day-to-day. A simple phone call and we will see if we can change a person’s medication or refer them to a doctor.”

Supporting the helpline will be clinics at Colchester General Hospital and Clacton Hospital, which patients will be invited to attend between every four weeks and six months.

Joy is currently studying on a course that will enable her to prescribe medication directly to patients, will also be involved with teaching nurses, doctors and GPs, will support inpatients and day case patients and work closely with the trust’s consultant gastroenterologists.

l For more information, visit www.nacc.org.uk