Why you don’t have to stomach abdominal pain

Aishling Condon Healy ended up in hospital before she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis

Aishling Condon Healy was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis aged 24, while in college.

In 2022, Aishling Condon Healy was doing a master’s degree in early childhood studies when she got severe abdominal pain. Condon Healy says: “I was experiencing a lot of pain and an unsettled stomach after eating. I was putting it down to food allergies or some kind of intolerances.”

The Galway woman, who was 24 at the time, changed her diet and underwent blood tests to identify rogue foods. During one of those tests, a dietitian asked if there was any Crohn’s or colitis in her family.