Crohn’s Disease
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory disease of the digestive tract. It is a lifelong condition which has no cure and may be life threatening. There are different types of Crohn’s disease depending on the part of digestive tract that is affected:
- Ileocolitis: it affects the end of small intestine (terminal ileum)
- Ileitis: it affects the ileum (a portion of small intestine)
- Gastroduodenal: it affects stomach and the beginning of small intestine (duodenum)
- Jejunoileitis: inflammation in patches in upper half of small intestine (jejunum)
- Granulomatous colitis: it affects only colon (large) intestine
Causes
The exact cause is still unknown. Some of the findings are listed below.
- Stress can aggravate the disease
- Genetic factors may contribute to Crohn’s disease
- An abnormal immune response from the immune system which causes that bacteria or virus that has triggered the disease to affect the cells of the digestive tract.
Symptoms
- Abdominal pain and cramping
- Fatigue
- Weight loss
- Diarrhoea
- Fever
- Reduced appetite
- Blood in fecal matter or stool
- Anaemia
- Constipation
- Fistulas in anal area
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is made based on
- Review of signs and symptoms
- A combination of medical tests
- Blood tests for anemia or infection
- Fecal occult blood test
- Colonoscopy
- CT-Computerised Tomography Scan
- MRI-Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Capsule Endoscopy
- Balloon assisted enteroscopy
Prevention
There are no proper preventive measures for Crohn’s disease yet. Some measures can be taken to ease the symptoms such as:
- Stop smoking (if you are a smoker)
- Regular exercise
- Healthy diet
- Less residue, low fibre and low fat diet.
Treatment
As already mentioned, there is no cure for Crohn’s disease. Treatment can be done in order to reduce the inflammation that causes the symptoms and get relief from the symptoms. Treatment for Crohn’s disease includes drugs, changes in diet, nutrition therapy and surgery.
- Drugs including immune system suppressors, antibiotic drugs and anti-inflammatory drugs can be used as directed by the doctor.
- Nutrition therapy involves using a feeding tube or injecting the nutrients through a vein.
- Diet changes involves intake of low fibre and low residue diet
- If none of the above remedies becomes effective, a surgery may be recommended wherein a part of the damaged digestive tract is removed, fistulas are closed or drain abscesses.
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