Often, the pain due to intestinal spasm is cramping in nature. In Crohn's disease, pressure can build up behind the narrowed intestine and produce cramps. Occasionally, the narrowing is so severe that a blockage of the intestine occurs, requiring immediate medical, and less frequently surgical, attention. A sudden, short, severe type of pain at the opening of the rectum is called tenesmus and results from inflammation and spasm in the rectum. Fever is a frequent accompaniment of inflammation of any type and is common in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
Weight loss is common due to the bowel's inability to absorb sufficient nutrition.
In children, a failure or delay in growth and maturity may result. In Crohn's disease, the rectum and its opening may become a focal point for inflammation, with the formation of painful inflamed slits in the skin and superficial tissues, called anal fissures. Large pus pockets or abscesses may accumulate, producing severe pain and fever. An abnormal communication between the intestine and the skin may occur. When this communication is near the opening of the rectum, it is referred to as an anal fistula.