Both UC and Crohns can run in families. My brother just recently started having digestive issues and his doc ordered a colonoscopy because I had UC. He's waiting for the results of the biopsies but right now it sounds like he has colitis from an infection, not ulcerative colitis.

Yes, it can run in families. Or at least the tendency for chrons can be inherited according to my research. A few years ago I read that at least 1 in 4 of those with Crohns have a family member with it.

You may not have known that older family members had it because they didn't use to talk about "those" type of illnesses. My grandfather tried to pretend he didn't have any problems and died of colon cancer. That was in '68. I only recently learned it started as crohns. One of my aunts had it for over 30 years and it was only after I was diagnosed, and refused to act like it was something shameful, that she admitted to others it was the real reason she didn't get out much.

So ask other family members about "stomach issues" and you may be surprised.

In our family there are quite a few, different, auto-inflammatory diseases/conditions to go around: Arthritis, Psoriasis, EGD, allergies, Gout, Asthma, IBS, Vitiligo, Sarcoidosis, Ulcerative Colitis...and our worst two... my grandmother's multiple sculerosis and my (12 yr old) son's Crohn's. I have come to understand that this "family" of disease is quite extensive...if not interesting.

When my son was diagnosed six years ago, one of my first questions for the GI doc, was how likely my other three children are to also have Crohn's? She downplayed the likelihood that the others would develop it too. Since then, my research and personal conversations with other sufferers has convinced me that one or more could quite likely develop Crohn's or Colitis as time goes on.

At one point, my daughter was starting to exhibit the same early symptoms my son had. We kept a close eye on her and ran some tests. Nothing came of it. But, I know that doesn't mean she (or the other two boys) is safe.

I actually started making an auto-inflammatory chart for our doctor. You never know how that information might point the doc in the right direction for your treatment!

I agree with tiredoldgal, that part of the issue you will likely run into is that many generations just didn't talk about "those" things. My great grandmother had her colon removed in the mid 1940's. When I ask for more information, everyone says it was cancer. Now I realize that it may have actually been Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis. There isn't any way to know for sure, but it makes more sense than a four year old boy developing symptoms "out of the blue."

I hope you find the answers you're seeking.