Crohn's Disease Treatment

Crohn's Disease Treatment
The most common symptoms related to crohn's disease are indigestion. Indigestion leads to possible malnutrition and the subsequent problems could be numerous. In order to adequately treat the disease, several factors are important to consider.

Factors to consider when treating crohn's disease

Each patient usually exhibits his/her own extremes when it comes to this problem it is therefore important to look at each and every individual's case separately in order to come up with a remedy. The bowels are major problem related to this disease; it is therefore an important part to look into when looking for a cure for the disease. Most patients exhibit diarrhea and weight loss resulting from the lack of appetite. It is vital to focus on the balanced diet principle when dealing with a crohn's disease patient. The most common and well known treatment of diarrhea is the intake of excess fluids to counter the loss occasioned by the diarrhea.

The unfortunate thing about this disease is the fact that there is still no known cure for the disease. As such the best that one can do in the circumstance is to try and effectively manage the symptoms and the resultant infections. The patient may most likely experience inflammation in the rectum or other places such as the colon that the inflammation may be experienced. As much as the treatment may involve drugs, it is important to note that any drugs used are usually only target at the pain and the infections that come as a result of the condition.

Some consideration should be made to ensure that the patient steers clear of substances that may course inflammations or even the infection of the intestines both small and large. Many patients may register intolerance to some products due to the inflammation and bowel problems. As such it is important to try and avoid such identified products. The most common products that prove intolerable to such victims are dairy products with lactose. In case you have to take such, it would be advisable to ensure that they have been subjected to treatment to reduce the lactose content in them

Several drugs have been introduced towards the treatment of the crohn's disease by focusing on the reduction of any pain or inflammations that result from the condition. Sulfasalazine is one of the most commonly used drugs in the treatment of this disease. It is however important to note that the drug may occasionally exhibit side effects such as diarrhea and vomiting as well as headaches and nausea. Some other drugs may include corticosteroids. It is however advisable to try the former drug first before going for these drugs since they are known to result in lots of side effects. In the worst case scenario, the doctors may recommend surgery.

Crohn's Disease Prognosis

Crohn's Disease Prognosis
Crohn's disease causes inflammation of the intestines. It could affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract. The disease is also known as regional enteritis and granulomatous colitis. When persons are affected with Crohn's disease, their autoimmune system attacks the organs of the digestive system swelling them. Medical scientists say that Crohn's disease has genetic links, as the disease is common with siblings whose parents have earlier suffered from the disease.

Crohn's disease has many symptoms. Mainly, it causes stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and weight loss. All the same, symptoms such as skin rashes, eye inflammation and arthritis, which are outside the gastrointestinal tract, are also found. Patients of Crohn's disease may have symptoms for years unknown to them. Usually, the disease affects people when they are in the 15 - 30 age group though it can affects all other age groups as well.

People suffering with Crohn's disease give out many systemic symptoms as well. Growth stagnation is common with children who suffer with the disease. In addition, Acute Myelogenous leukemia and lymphoma can also be seen. Children with Crohn's disease are mainly diagnosed, as they have unusual growth malfunctions.

Retardation of this type can be seen up to 30 percent of children who suffer from Crohn's disease. There may be recurrent fever although this may not be significant with high temperature onsets unless the patient has severe complications such as abscess. Elder patients normally suffer weight loss. This happens, as they are reluctant to take food.

As mentioned earlier, Crohn's disease may affect other organs as well. Eye inflammation (uveitis) is one of the common effects, which gives eye pain whenever the patients look at lights. The inflammation could affect the white part of the eye called sclera as well. This condition is called episcleritis. Both these conditions may cause permanent blindness if they are not treated soon.

In addition, Crohn's disease can cause seronegative spondyloarthorpathy, a type of rheumatologic disease. With this, patients suffer from arthritis or enthesitis. The inflammation of joints may affect large joints as well as small joints such as in the knees, shoulders, and joints of hand and feet. It may affect the spine causing ankylosing spondylitis or one part of spine known as sacroiliitis.

American gastroenterologist Burrill Bernard Crohn first described the disease in 1932. He and his two colleagues found many patients who had inflammation with their terminal ileum and because of this reason the disease was also named regional ileitis. A permanent medicinal or surgical cure for Crohn's disease is yet to be found. Nonetheless, administering the right medications can control the disease.