Crohn's Disease
Crohn's disease is a bowel disease that typically impacts the intestines (usually the lower portion of the small intestine), and causes inflammation. It can cause havoc anywhere from the mouth to the rectum. The inflammation associated with the disease often spreads into the deeper tissues of the affected bowel tissue.
Crohn's disease affliction
Although Crohn's disease can occur at any age, it tends to surface in the teens and into the twenties; another peak appearance occurs in the fifties through the seventies. Both men and women are affected equally by the disease, but individuals with siblings bearing the disease are at a higher risk due to a reported genetic link. There's a higher incidence of Crohn's disease in western industrialized nations, indicating an environmental component. In North America, roughly 400,000 to 600,000 are afflicted with the disease. Lastly, smokers are twice as likely to develop the condition as nonsmokers.
Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of Crohn's disease can range from mild to severe and sporadic to chronic. When the disease is in remission (inactive), you may not have any symptoms. However, when the disease is active, you may experience diarrhea, abdominal pain, abdominal cramping, blood in the stool, reduced appetite, weight loss, malnutrition, and ulcers in the intestines and mouth. Other symptoms may include fatigue, fever, skin disorders, arthritis, bile ducts or liver inflammation, and eye inflammation.
It is not clear why these other problems occur. The immune system may trigger inflammation in other parts of the body when there is inflammation in the gut. These other problems tend to go when the gut symptoms settle, but not always.
How does Crohn's disease progress?
Crohn's disease is a chronic, relapsing condition. Chronic means that it is ongoing. Relapsing means that there are times when symptoms flare up (relapse), and times when there are few or no symptoms (remission). The severity of symptoms, and how frequently they occur, varies from person to person. The first episode (flare-up) of symptoms is often the worst.
Diagnosis & Tests
To diagnose Crohn's disease, your doctor will perform a number of tests and procedures including blood tests, fecal occult blood tests, colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, barium enema, small bowel imaging, CT scan, and/or endoscopy (using a capsule) in order to rule out other conditions like diverticulitis or colon cancer that may be causing your symptoms.
Treatment
Some individuals with a mild cases of Crohn's disease may manage their condition by exercise, dietary adjustments, and lifestyle changes such as removing stress, avoiding problem foods like gassy and spicy foods, drinking plenty of fluids, taking probiotics, and limiting dairy and high fat foods.
However, the typical first defense to treat Crohn's disease is drug therapy. Anti-inflammatory medications, immune system suppressors, antibiotics, or some combination of these medications will be prescribed to control inflammation relating to the disease. In addition to treating the inflammation, anti-diarrhea medication, laxatives, pain relievers, vitamin B-12 shots, calcium, vitamin D, and/or iron supplements may be prescribed to reduce Crohn's symptoms. If you are suffering from serious malnutrition, your doctor may recommend a special nutrition diet that may include a feeding tube.
If diet, drug therapy, and lifestyle changes do not relieve your symptoms, your doctor may advise surgery to remove the damaged section of your digestive tract. Surgery will also remove scar tissue and close fissures. Surgery can provide years of relief from symptoms, but a second surgery (or more) may be needed.
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