What is Crohn’s Disease?

Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease. According to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA), as many as 780,000 Americans have the disease. {one*}

More research is needed on Crohn’s disease. Researchers are unsure how this disease begins, in which individuals it is most likely to occur, or how best to manage it. Despite significant advances in the treatment of the disease in the last 30 years, there is no cure yet.

Crohn’s disease is most common in the small intestine and colon. It can affect any part of the gastrointestinal (GI) system, from the mouth to the anus. It can be seen in some parts of the GI tract and not in others.

The severity range for Crohn’s disease can vary from mild to severe. Symptoms can change over time. In severe cases, the disease can lead to life-threatening exacerbations and complications.

Crohn’s Symptoms

Symptoms of Crohn’s disease usually develop gradually. Some symptoms may also get worse over time. Although possible, sudden and dramatic development of symptoms is rare.

The earliest symptoms of Crohn’s disease are:

•  Diarrhea
• abdominal cramps
• Seeing blood in the stool
• Fire
• Tiredness
• Anorexia
• weight loss
• Feeling as if the bowels are not empty after bowel movements
• needing to have frequent bowel movements

Sometimes it is possible to confuse these symptoms with symptoms of another condition, such as food poisoning, stomach upset or allergies. If any of these symptoms persist, you should see a doctor.

As the disease progresses, the symptoms may become more severe.

More severe symptoms include:

• Perianal fistula causing pain near the anus
• Ulcers that can occur anywhere from the mouth to the anus
• Inflammation of the joints and skin
•   Decreased ability to exercise due to shortness of breath or anemia

Early diagnosis helps prevent serious complications and start treatment early.

What Causes Crohn’s Disease?

It is not clear what causes Crohn’s disease. However, certain factors can influence the development of the disease.

Some of the factors that cause Chron’s disease are:

• Immune system
• genes
• environment

According to the CCFA, 20% of people with Crohn’s disease also have a parent, child, or sibling with the disease.

According to a study, some factors can affect the severity of the symptoms of the disease. These factors are:

• Smoking
• Age
• Whether or not the rectum is involved
• duration of illness

People with Crohn’s disease are also more likely to develop intestinal infections from bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. This can affect the severity of symptoms and cause complications.

Crohn’s disease and its treatments can also affect the immune system, making such infections worse.

Fungal infections are common in Crohn’s disease. These infections can affect both the lungs and intestinal tract. It is important to diagnose these infections and treat them appropriately with antifungal medication to prevent further complications.

What Is Chronic Inflammation That Causes Many Diseases?

Diagnosis of Crohn’s

A single test result is not enough to diagnose Crohn’s disease. The following tests are performed for the diagnosis;

• Blood tests can help detect certain conditions, such as anemia and inflammation.
• The stool test can be used to detect blood in the digestive tract.
• Endoscopy can be applied to better visualize the gastrointestinal tract.
• Colonoscopy can be performed to examine the large intestine.
• Imaging tests, such as CT and MRI scans, provide more detail than the average X-ray scan. Both tests allow certain areas of tissues and organs to be seen.
• A biopsy of a tissue sample can be performed during endoscopy or colonoscopy for a closer examination of intestinal tract tissue.
• A diagnosis of Crohn’s disease is made after the doctor completes a review of all necessary tests and has ruled out other possible causes of the symptoms.

Treatment of Crohn’s Disease

There is no cure for Crohn’s disease yet, but the disease can be managed. Various treatment options are available that can reduce the severity and frequency of symptoms.

Medicines

Various types of medication are available to treat Crohn’s disease. Anti-diarrheal and anti-inflammatory drugs are widely used. More advanced drug options include biologics that use the body’s immune system to treat disease.

The medications or combinations of medications needed depend on the symptoms, the individual’s disease history, the severity of their condition, and how they respond to treatment.

Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

The two main types of anti-inflammatory drugs doctors use to treat people with Crohn’s are oral 5-aminosalicylates and corticosteroids. Anti-inflammatory drugs are often the first drugs taken to treat Crohn’s disease.

These drugs are usually taken when there are mild symptoms and infrequent disease flares. Corticosteroids are used for more severe symptoms, but only for a short time.

Immunomodulators

An overactive immune system causes the inflammation that leads to the symptoms of Crohn’s disease. Drugs that affect the immune system, called immunomodulators, can reduce the inflammatory response and limit the immune system response.

antibiotics

Some doctors believe that antibiotics can help reduce some of the symptoms of Crohn’s disease and some possible triggers.

Antibiotics can reduce drainage and heal fistulas where disease causes abnormal connections between tissues.

Commonly Used Antibiotics That Harm The Body

Biological Therapies

In severe Crohn’s disease, doctors may try one of a number of biological treatments to treat inflammation and complications that may result from the disease. Biologic drugs can block specific proteins that can trigger inflammation.

Surgical

In cases where minor invasive treatments and lifestyle changes fail to improve symptoms, surgery may be required. The CCFA states that approximately 75% of people with Crohn’s disease will need surgery at some point in their lives.

In some surgeries for Crohn’s patients, damaged parts of the digestive tract are removed and reattached with healthy sections. In other procedures, damaged tissue is repaired, scar tissue or deep infections are treated.

Diet

Foods do not cause Crohn’s disease, but they can trigger an exacerbation.

After diagnosing Crohn’s, doctors recommend seeing a dietitian. The dietitian helps to understand how food can affect symptoms and how diet can help with this disease.

Initially, dietitians want a food diary to be kept. This food diary details what the individual consumes and how the food consumed makes the individual feel.

Using this information, the dietitian creates a meal plan. While these dietary changes help to get more nutrients from the food to be consumed, they also prevent the negative side effects that the food can cause.

Crohn’s Disease Diet

A diet plan that works for one person with Crohn’s disease may not be effective for another. This is because the disease can affect different areas of the digestive tract in different people.

It is important to create the most suitable diet for a Crohn’s patient. This can be done by monitoring symptoms while adding or removing certain foods from the diet. Lifestyle and dietary changes can ensure that the symptoms do not recur and their severity decreases.

Adjusting Fiber Consumption

Some people need a high-fiber, high-protein diet, while for others , high-fiber foods like fruits and vegetables can cause digestive distress. In this case, these individuals are required to follow a low-fiber diet. {2nd*}

Limiting Fat Consumption

Crohn’s disease can affect the body’s fat breakdown and nutrient absorption. Excess fat can pass from the small intestine to the colon, causing diarrhea.

However, one study suggested that a diet consisting of plant-based oils has positive effects in altering the gut microbiota of Crohn’s patients.

Limiting Daily Consumption of Milk and Dairy Products

Crohn’s patients may have difficulty digesting some dairy products. Consuming milk can cause stomach upset, abdominal cramps and diarrhea in some people. {3*}

What Are the Benefits of Milk?

Adequate Water Consumption

Crohn’s disease can affect the body’s absorption of water in the digestive tract. This can cause dehydration (thirst). The risk of dehydration is particularly high in the case of diarrhea or bleeding. {4*}

Alternative Sources of Vitamins and Minerals

Crohn’s disease can affect nutrient absorption from the intestines. A nutrient-dense diet may not be enough. In case of need, doctors can give multivitamin supplements.

Natural Cures for Crohn’s

Some people use complementary and alternative medicine methods to help manage the symptoms of various conditions and diseases, including Crohn’s disease.

The Food and Drug Administration has not approved them for treatment, but some people use them in addition to the main drugs. However, it is not recommended to add new treatments to existing treatment plans without consulting a doctor.

Some complementary and alternative treatments for Crohn’s disease include:

• Probiotics: These are live bacteria that can aid the growth and regeneration of beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract. Probiotics can also help prevent microorganisms from disrupting the natural balance of the gut and preventing an exacerbation of Crohn’s disease. However, scientific data on the effectiveness of probiotics are limited.
• Prebiotics: These are potentially beneficial nutrients found in plants such as asparagus, bananas, artichokes, and leeks that help feed and increase the number of beneficial bacteria in the gut.
• Fish oil: Fish oil is rich in omega-3 . Oily fish such as salmon and mackerel are rich in omega-3s.
• Supplements: Many people believe that certain herbs, vitamins, and minerals relieve symptoms of various diseases, including the inflammation associated with Crohn’s disease. Research is still ongoing as to which supplements may be beneficial.
• Aloe vera: Some people believe that the aloe vera plant has anti-inflammatory properties. Because inflammation is one of the key components of Crohn’s disease, people can use aloe vera as a natural anti-inflammatory. However, there is no current research suggesting that aloe vera has beneficial effects in Crohn’s disease.
• Acupuncture: It is the practice of strategically sticking needles into the skin to stimulate various points on the body. A study has shown that acupuncture, in combination with moxibustion, a type of traditional Chinese medicine applied by burning dried herbs on or near the skin, improves symptoms of Crohn’s disease. More research is needed for this.

Application of these complementary and alternative medicine methods outside the doctor’s control may affect the effectiveness of drugs or other treatments used in Crohn’s disease. In some cases, an interaction or side effect can be dangerous or even life-threatening.

Crohn’s Surgery

Surgery for Crohn’s disease is considered a treatment of last resort, but three-quarters of Crohn’s patients need surgery to relieve their symptoms or complications.

Some surgeries may be performed when medications no longer work or become too severe to treat. These:

• Stricturplasty: It is the practice of widening and shortening the intestines to reduce the effects of scarring or damage to tissue.
• Bowel resection: Damaged bowel sections are removed. A new intestine is formed with a healthy intestine.
• Ostomy: A hole is made where the body can remove waste. These are usually performed when part of the small or large intestine is removed.
• Colectomy: Diseased or damaged sections of the colon are removed.
• Proctocolectomy: It is surgery to remove the colon and rectum. After this surgery, a colostomy (a hole in the large intestine to drain waste) is also needed.

Crohn’s disease surgery is helpful for relieving symptoms, but it also has risks.

 Types of Crohn’s Disease

There are six types of Crohn’s disease, depending on its location in the digestive tract. These:

• Gastroduodenal Crohn’s Disease: This uncommon condition mainly affects the stomach and the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine.
• Jejunoileitis: It occurs in the second part of the intestine called the jejunum. Like gastroduodenal Crohn’s Disease, this variant is less common.
• Ileitis: Ileitis is inflammation of the last part of the small intestine or ileum.
• Ileocolitis: It affects the ileum and colon and is the most common type of Crohn’s disease.
• Crohn’s Colitis: It only affects the colon. Both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s colitis affect only the colon, but Crohn’s colitis can also affect the deeper layers of the gut.
• Perianal Disease: Commonly known as fistulas or abnormal connections between tissues, deep tissue infections, as well as sores and ulcers on the outer skin around the anus.

Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) are two types of inflammatory bowel disease. They have many of the same features.

Common features are: {5*}

• The initial signs and symptoms of both Crohn’s disease and UC are very similar. These are diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramping, Rectal bleeding, weight loss and fatigue.
• Both UC and Crohn’s disease are more common in people aged 15-35 and in people with a family history of both types of inflammatory bowel disease.
• In general, inflammatory bowel diseases tend to affect all genders equally, although this can vary with age.

Despite decades of research, scientists still don’t know what causes these two diseases. In both cases, an overactive immune system is a possible cause of these diseases, but other factors are likely to play a role in the development of the disease.

Their distinctive features are:

• UC only affects two points. Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the digestive tract , from the mouth to the anus.
• UC only affects the outermost layer of tissue, called the mucosa, that covers the colon. Crohn’s disease can affect all layers of your intestinal tissue, from the superficial to the deep.
• UC is only one type of colon inflammation. There are several other types of colitis. Not all forms of colitis cause the same type of intestinal inflammation and damage as UC.

What is Ulcerative Colitis? What Are the Symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis?

Crohn’s Disease in Children

Most people with Crohn’s disease are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s, but inflammatory bowel disease can also develop in children. Studies show that about 1 in 4 people with inflammatory bowel disease develop symptoms before the age of 20. {6*}

Crohn’s disease involving only the colon is common in children and adolescents. This means that it is difficult to distinguish between Crohn’s and UC until the child begins to show other symptoms.

Appropriate treatment for Crohn’s disease in children is important, as untreated Crohn’s disease can lead to growth retardation and bone weakness. Treatment methods include:

• antibiotics
• Aminosalicylates
• biologicals
• Immunomodulators
• Steroids
• nutrition plans

Crohn’s medications can have some important side effects on children. It is important to keep in touch with the doctor to find the right options.