Inflammatory Bowel Disease/ Crohns Disease

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Inflammatory Bowel Disease/ Crohn's Disease

Inflammatory Bowel Disease/ Crohn's Disease

    Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic disorders that
cause inflammation or ulceration in the small and large intestines. Most often
IBD is classified as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease but may be referred
to as colitis, enteritis, ileitis, and proctitis. Ulcerative colitis causes
ulceration and inflammation of the inner lining of a couple of really bad places,
while Crohn's disease is an inflammation that extends into the deeper layers of
the intestinal wall. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease cause similar
symptoms that often resemble other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome
(spastic colitis). The correct diagnosis may take some time. Crohn's disease
usually involves the small intestine, most often the lower part (the ileum). In
some cases, both the small and large intestine (those really bad places again)
are affected. In other cases, only the SUPER really bad place is involved.
Sometimes, inflammation also may affect the mouth, esophagus, stomach, duodenum,
appendix, or some nasty sounding word. Crohn's disease is a chronic condition
and may recur at various times over a lifetime. Some people have long periods
of remission, sometimes for years, when they are free of symptoms. There is no
way to predict when a remission may occur or when symptoms will return.
    The most common symptoms of Crohn's disease are abdominal pain, often in
the lower right area, and diarrhea. There also may be rectal bleeding, weight
loss, and fever. Bleeding may be serious and persistent, leading to anemia (low
red blood cell count). Children may suffer delayed development and stunted
growth.

What Causes Crohn's Disease and Who Gets It?

    There are many theories about what causes Crohn's disease, but none has
been proven. One theory is that some agent, perhaps a virus, affects the body's
immune system to trigger an inflammatory reaction in the intestinal wall.
Although there is a lot of evidence that patients with this disease have
abnormalities of the immune system, doctors do not know whether the immune
problems are a cause or a result of the disease. Doctors believe, however, that
there is little proof that Crohn's disease is caused by emotional distress or by
an unhappy childhood. Crohn's disease affects males and females equally and
appears to run in some families. About 20 percent of people with Crohn's
disease have a blood relativ

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