What are the symptoms of microscopic colitis?
The primary symptom of microscopic colitis is chronic, watery diarrhea. Patients with microscopic colitis can have diarrhea for months or years before the diagnosis is made. This chronic diarrhea of microscopic colitis is different from the acute diarrhea of infectious colitis, which typically lasts only days to weeks. Some patients with microscopic colitis also may report mild abdominal cramps and pain. Blood in the stool is unusual. How common is microscopic colitis and who is at risk? The prevalence of microscopic colitis in the U.S. is not clearly known. It is estimated that 10-20% of patients with chronic diarrhea may have microscopic colitis. It is this author’s experience, that the condition is becoming more common in recent years. It is not clear, however, whether there is an actual increase in the frequency of microscopic colitis or whether doctors are just better at diagnosing it. Microscopic colitis most commonly occurs in middle aged to elderly patients and is more common a
