Diverticular Disease Awareness Week
6th-12th October 2025
“Diverticular disease… what’s that?” we hear you say. You might not have heard of it before, but diverticular disease affects 1 in 3 people (increasing to 1 in 2) during their lifetime. It could impact you. It could impact a loved one. It’s a digestive condition that you need to be aware of.
Let’s get particular. What exactly is diverticular disease?
Diverticula are permanent pockets that develop in the bowel and in some people, they can cause symptoms. Having symptoms is diagnosed as diverticular disease. But the terminology surrounding diverticular disease can get a little confusing, so let’s break it down:
The diverticular disease glossary:
- Diverticulum: A diverticulum is a small pouch about 1cm in size which sticks out from the wall of the large bowel.
- Diverticula: This refers to more than one Diverticulum. The most common site for diverticula is on the lower part of the large bowel on the left-hand side. They are permanent unless the affected part of the bowel is surgically removed.
- Diverticulitis: Diverticulitis means the condition that occurs when a single diverticulum or several diverticula become inflamed or infected.
- Diverticulosis: You may have heard the term diverticulosis, which means the presence of diverticula. This is not the same as diverticular disease. Most people with diverticulosis do not have, or go on to develop, diverticular disease. The great majority of people with diverticulosis will live out their lives never having symptoms. Having symptoms is diagnosed as diverticular disease.
What are the symptoms?
It is important to remember that most people with diverticular disease will never have any complications and can carry on with their lives as normal.
The most common symptoms include:
- Lower abdominal pain
- Bloating (increase in abdominal size due to gas)
- Change in bowel habit (diarrhoea or constipation)
- Mucus or blood in the stool
The pattern of symptoms differs from one person to the next, but pain is often crampy, and it comes and goes. Click here to learn more about where the pain is typically experienced.
It is important to remember that many symptoms of diverticular disease are very similar to those of more serious conditions, such as bowel cancer, so it’s important not to assume that they are due solely to diverticular disease.
If you experience a change in symptoms or develop new symptoms, especially blood in your stools, consult your doctor. You can also use our handy tool, the Poo-Torial, to give you more information about what the colour, consistency and frequency of your poo could indicate. Your doctor might want to check you over to make sure something unrelated to diverticular disease was not developing instead. The reason for this is that symptoms of diverticular disease may overlap with conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), colitis, and cancer.
Diverticulitis – what to look out for
Diverticulitis is when the pocket(s) in the bowel can become infected. It often occurs in between 1 in 10 to a quarter of people with the condition, so knowing the symptoms and knowing what to do is vital. If any of the below symptoms are experienced, seek medical help immediately:
- Worsening abdominal pain
- High temperature
- Nausea (feeling sick) or vomiting (being sick)
Why is it important to raise awareness of diverticular disease?
Meet Diverticular Dave (pictured above). He is here to deliver an important message:
“Diverticular disease needs more attention. It affects many, yet as is the case with many digestive symptoms and conditions, diverticular disease isn’t well known or talked about enough. Nobody should suffer alone. With you by our sides, we can spread this message far and wide and empower people to know when something isn’t right and to seek help.
Together, we can get trusted, evidence-based information about diverticular disease in the hands of those who need it most, when they need it most. We can raise public awareness. We can change lives by funding vital research. Together, we can grips with guts!”
Jonald’s diverticulitis story
“My bowel had been perforated and I was presented with two options: be put on an intravenous drip (a drip into the veins) with prescribed medication and be monitored or have surgery to remove the affected part of my bowel. Everything came as such a shock. I’d been none the wiser.
Weeks later, doctors told me that the diverticula (pouches about 1cm in size that stick out of the bowel wall) in the right-hand side of my large bowel (colon) were inflamed (diverticulitis) and it was likely they had been inflamed for months.”
Karan’s diverticular disease story
“At the end of 2020, I started to experience period-like pain in my left-hand side. I had no other typical diverticulitis symptoms, like bowel problems. The pain didn’t go away and eventually my husband said, “This isn’t right, you need to go to the doctors.
The GP thought it could be diverticulitis and prescribed me antibiotics, but the pain continued. I completed a FIT test (a faecal immunochemical test that can indicate bleeding in the lower digestive tract) and was referred to a gynaecologist. In November 2021, gynaecology immediately told me “This is a bowel problem”.
Just days later, things became much worse. I went to A&E and scans showed that my bowel had perforated.”
Where can I find more information on diverticular disease?
Our patient information section is home to our expert, evidence-based information on diverticular disease.
How can I help?
You can help us raise vital awareness of diverticular disease by:
- Following us on social media and sharing our awareness and information posts during the awareness week itself. You never know who we might reach and help together. Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter/X.
- Share your own experience, or a loved ones experience with diverticular disease to your own circles, and on your own social media channels. Submit your interest in sharing your story with Guts UK, our gutsy community and beyond, here.
- Fundraise for Guts UK Charity to help us abolish the taboos surrounding digestive health, and get to grips with guts. You can fund life-changing research, and empower people to seek help sooner.
