What is Crohn’s disease?
The importance of a healthy digestive system can be difficult to digest. Most people don’t think about digestion unless they feel full after a big meal or they become a little bit bloated. Having healthy digestion can make a big difference in the way you feel and how well your body functions. One of the conditions that can impact, and inflame, an otherwise healthy digestive system is Crohn’s disease. It’s a painful inflammatory bowel disease that can make you frequently go to the bathroom and wonder where to go for relief. To see how this chronic condition can make digestion go from good to bad, take a closer look at Crohn’s disease, its frequency, types, and your risk of getting sick as well as the associated symptoms and treatments.
A breakdown of Crohn’s disease
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes chronic inflammation and swelling in the digestive tract. Your digestive tract is a lengthy tube that starts in your mouth and goes through the esophagus, stomach, and intestines to the anus. Inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease are autoimmune diseases, which is when your body’s immune system attacks itself and causes inflammation. With a case of Crohn’s disease, the inflammation can affect any part of the digestive tract. It typically appears in the small intestines and the colon where it inflames, irritates, and breaks down their walls, leaving only some areas of healthy tissue. The damage done to the digestive tract leaves many people in digestive discomfort.
No one is immune to Crohn’s disease
Crohn’s disease can attack anyone, at any age, at any time. More than three million adults have some type of inflammatory bowel disease, with more than 750,000 people suffering from Crohn’s disease in the United States alone, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
Digest the five types of Crohn’s disease
While Crohn’s disease is known by a single name, there are several kinds based on which area of the digestive tract is affected by inflammation. Starting from the top (of your digestive tract, that is), the different types of Crohn’s disease include:
- Gastroduodenal Crohn’s disease – This form of the condition affects the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum, which is the first part of the small intestine.
- Jejunoileitis – This leaves areas of inflammation on the upper section of the small intestine.
- Ileitis – This occurs when the lower portion of the small intestine gets inflamed.
- Ileocolitis – As the most common form of Crohn’s disease, this affects the end of the small intestine and the large intestine.
- Colitis – This type of Crohn’s disease occurs when inflammation appears only in the large intestine, of which the lower part is known as the colon.
Swallow the various risk factors
It’s hard to play the blame game with Crohn’s disease because the cause of the condition is so misunderstood. What is known is that certain factors may increase your risk. The following factors may make you more likely to develop this inflammatory bowel disease:
- You have a family history of Crohn’s disease or any inflammatory bowel disease.
- Age can be a factor because you are more likely to be diagnosed if you are under 30 years old.
- Crohn’s disease is most common among people of eastern European descent.
- Cigarette smoking can increase your risk for Crohn’s disease, along with many other diseases.
- Living in an urban environment can increase your overall risk.
Stomach the symptoms
Since Crohn’s disease can inflame any part of the digestive tract, the symptoms may not be the same for every sufferer, but certain signs are commonly shared by people with Crohn’s disease. Some people with Crohn’s disease go years without any symptoms, while others have more frequent attacks, which are known as flare-ups. Contact your SignatureMD-affiliated doctor if you experience the following symptoms:
- Chronic diarrhea
- Abdominal cramps and pain
- An urgent need to use the bathroom
- Blood in your stool
- Constipation
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
- Fever
- The feeling that you never completely empty your bowels
Remedies for relief from Crohn’s disease
After diagnosing a case of Crohn’s disease typically with a physical exam, several lab tests, diagnostic imaging, and a colonoscopy, you and your SignatureMD-affiliated doctor can focus on finding the right treatment. While there is no cure for the condition, many treatments can help reduce the symptoms, the inflammation, and your chance of complications. The most effective treatments include taking medications or antibiotics to decrease any inflammation, and changing your diet by reducing the foods, fiber, and fats that may trigger a flare-up of symptoms can also be helpful for some. If medication and lifestyle changes don’t provide enough relief, surgery may be recommended to help reduce your symptoms, your suffering, and your risk of complications.
Hopefully, this insight into this inflammatory bowel disease can help you handle life comfortably with Crohn’s disease.