Conditions Spotlight: Crohn’s Disease
Crohn's disease is another type of inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation of your digestive tract. And it really doesn’t feel good. Many are diagnosed after having chronic abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, and/or malnutrition.
Imagine not knowing why you’re always running to the toilet, always feeling nauseous, and being afraid to travel or be too far from a restroom on a daily basis. Crohn's disease can be both painful and debilitating and may even lead to life-threatening complications.
Unfortunately, there's no known cure for Crohn's disease, but therapies and treatments that can put symptoms into remission where there’s no sign of bowel issues for a certain period of time.
Diet and stress have been shown to aggravate and increase symptoms. It can also bring Crohn’s that’s in remission back to a heightened status.
How Do You Get Crohn’s?
Heredity and a malfunctioning immune system, likely play a role in the development of Crohn's disease.
It's possible that a virus or bacterium may trigger Crohn's disease, but scientists have yet to identify such a trigger. When your immune system tries to fight off the invading microorganism, an abnormal immune response causes the immune system to attack the cells in the digestive tract, too.
Crohn's is more common in people who have family members with the disease, so genes may play a role in making people more susceptible. You're at higher risk if you have a first-degree relative (parent, sibling, or child)with the disease. And as many as 1 in 5 people with Crohn's disease has a family member with the disease.
You're more likely to develop the condition when you're young, before 30 years of age.
Cigarette smoking is the most important controllable risk factor for developing Crohn's disease.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, diclofenac sodium, and others can lead to inflammation of the bowel that makes Crohn's disease worse.
Complications from Crohn's
Crohn's disease can affect the entire thickness of the intestinal wall, causing scars that may eventually block the flow of digestive contents. That could require surgery to remove the diseased portion of your bowel.
Chronic inflammation leads to open sores in your digestive tract, including your mouth and anus, and in the genital area. Ulcers are painful!
Sometimes ulcers extend out through the intestinal wall, creating a fistula. These can develop between your intestine and your skin, or between your intestine and another organ. Fistulas near or around the anal area are the most common kind.
When fistulas develop in the abdomen, food may bypass areas of the bowel that are necessary for absorption which is what leads to malnutrition. In some cases, a fistula may become infected and form an abscess, which can be life-threatening if not treated.
Anal fissures are small tears in the tissue that lines the anus or in the skin around the anus where infections can occur. It's often associated with painful bowel movements and may lead to a perianal fistula.
Diarrhea, abdominal pain, and cramping may make it difficult for you to eat or for your intestine to absorb enough nutrients to keep you nourished. It's also common to develop anemia due to low iron or vitamin B-12 caused by the disease.
Having Crohn's disease increases your risk of colon cancer. And Crohn's can cause problems in other parts of the body: skin disorders, osteoporosis, arthritis, and gallbladder or liver disease. Crohn's disease also increases the risk of blood clots in veins and arteries.
Certain Crohn's disease drugs that act by blocking functions of the immune system are associated with a small risk of developing cancers such as lymphoma and skin cancers. They also increase the risk of infection. Corticosteroids can be associated with a risk of osteoporosis, bone fractures, cataracts, glaucoma, diabetes, and high blood pressure, among other conditions.
Common signs and symptoms include:
● Diarrhea
● Fever
● Fatigue
● Abdominal pain and cramping
● Blood in your stool
● Mouth sores
● Reduced appetite and weight loss
● Pain or drainage near or around the anus
Less common symptoms include:
● Inflammation of skin, eyes, and joints or liver or bile ducts
● Kidney stones
● Iron deficiency/anemia
Holistic Healing of Crohn’s
In addition to working with your doctor to choose a medical solution to getting your disease into remission, there are a lot of ways you can support your health through nutrition, stress reduction, and eliminating your systemic inflammation.
Crohn’s is an auto-immune disease which means it’s very important to tame the flame in your system. That can seem daunting, but a health coach can work with you to include lifestyle changes that will create a better ecosystem for healing. Removing inflammation-causing foods goes a long way toward blocking the disease from creating complications in your other body systems.
Holistic treatments can turn around the debilitating effects that and IBD like Crohn’s will cause in your life.
Want to learn more? Read the previous blog article on inflammation and download your FREE copy of the eBook, Write Your Own Prescription.
Remember, you have the power to feel better and support is available to help you get there. You’re not alone!
