Introduction

Crohn’s disease is an illness of the inflammatory bowel causing persistent gastrointestinal tract inflammation.

It may affect any region of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus, but mostly affects the bowel end and the beginning of the colon. It can alter the whole bowel wall thickness even. Bowel inflammation may “skip” or leave the normal regions between sick gut patches.

It is vital to know which portion of your GI tract is damaged if you are diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. While Crohn’s symptoms might differ from person to person, the kind of Crohn’s that you have can affect your symptoms and consequences.

Types

The nature and severity of the condition relies on the treatment. Each of the five kinds of Crohn’s disease has its own symptoms and distinct digestive system regions. There are five types of Crohn’s disease stated as:

  • Ileocolitis

This type of illness causes the ice (the bottom section of the bowel) and colon to become inflamed and irritated. Symptoms for those suffering from ileocolitis can be:

  • Diarrhea
  • Significant weight loss
  • Pain or cramping in middle or lower abdomen
  • Ileitis

It causes soreness and inflammation of the ice, much like Ileocolitis. Ileitis symptoms are same to ileocolitis symptoms. People with ileitis may also develop fistulas in the lower part of their abdomen.

  • Gastroduodenal Crohn’s Disease

Duodenum (or the first part of the stomach) is affected in this disease. People with this kind of Crohn’s disease typically have nausea, appetite deficiency and loss of weight. if some small parts of the bowel becomes blocked the person might vomit due to inflammation.

  • Jejunoileitis

Area of inflammation occurs in the jejunum or second section of the small intestine. Symptoms may include:

  • After meal cramps
  • Fistulas
  • Diarrhea
  • Crohns (Granulomatous) Colitis

The colon, which is mostly the large intestine, is affected by Crohn’s disease. It can cause the anus to produce fistulas, ulcers and abscesses. It may also produce symptoms such as:

  • Skin lesions
  • Joint pain
  • Diarrhea

Causes

Doctors don’t know what causes the sickness of Crohn. Some individuals consider it to be an autoimmune illness. Investigation shows that long-term inflammation may not occur because your immune system assaults your body, but because it tackles a virus or bacterium in your stomach, which is innocuous. Some risk factors may include:

  • Genes – it’s often inherited
  • Age – occurs mostly in late 50s or after that
  • Smoking – makes so severe that surgery is required for the treatment
  • Medications – due to more intake of non-steroidal inflammatory drugs intake
  • World around you – people living in urban areas
  • Diet – processed food more intake
  • Infections – bacteria linked to Crohn’s include mycobacterium or E.coli

Signs and Symptoms

Any section of your small or big intestine might be implicated in Crohn’s disease, and it could be continuous or encompass many segments. The illness is restricted in some patients to the colon that is part of the large intestine. Crohn’s disease can be minor to severe in symptoms and indications. They generally grow progressively, yet suddenly, without warning occasionally.

When the disease becomes active, the signs and symptoms include:

  • Diarrhea
  • Fever
  • Fatigue
  • Abdominal pain or cramping
  • Blood in your stool
  • Mouth sores
  • Reduced appetite
  • Weight loss
  • Pain or drainage near or around the anus due to inflammation from a tunnel into the skin (fistula)

Other signs and symptoms include:

  • Inflammation of skin, eyes and joints
  • Inflammation of the liver or bile ducts
  • Kidney stones
  • Iron deficiency anemia
  • Delayed growth or sexual development, in children

When to see a doctor?

Check with your doctor if you have chronic bowel habits changes or if you have signs and symptoms such as Crohn’s disease.

  • Abdominal pain
  • Blood in your stool
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Ongoing bouts of diarrhea that don’t respond to over the counter medications
  • Unexplained fever lasting more than a day or two
  • Unexplained weight loss

Diagnosis

After ruling out possible signs and symptoms your doctor will ask you for following tests:

  • Testing of blood to check anemia — a disease in which red blood cells are not adequately poured into your tissue to transport oxygen — or to examine infection indications.
  • Stool tests – You might need to take a stool to test concealed (occult) blood in your stool for your doctor or for organisms such as parasites.

Some procedures may include:

  • Colonoscopy: At the end of your ileum, this test enables the physician to see across the whole wide colon. Inflammatory cell clusters termed granulomas effectively assist in diagnosis if present.
  • CT scan: Is a particular X-ray method, more detailed than a normal X-ray. This test examines the whole intestines and body tissues.
  • MRI: this helps in detail study of the organs and tissues by the help of magnetic and radio waves. It can specifically evaluate fistula
  • Capsule endoscopy: Having a camera inside a capsule is given to the patient. The camera captures photos of your small bowels and sends them to a recording device that you wear on your belt. The pictures are then transferred to a computer on a monitor, and indications of Crohn’s disease are examined

Treatment

Crohn’s disease is not yet cured and no single medication works for everybody. One objective in medical treatment is to decrease your signs and symptoms due to the inflammation.

Anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed as they are firstly recommended treatment that includes corticosteroids such as prednisone. Other class of drugs includes Oral 5-aminosalicyclates that include sulfasalazine.

Azathioprine and Methotrexate are also prescribed as they are immune system suppressors.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics can reduce the amount of drainage from fistulas and sometimes help in healing in people suffering from Crohn’s disease. Some researchers say they also help in reducing the harmful intestinal bacteria or inflammation that may cause serious problems to immune system.

Reference

 

[i] https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/what-is-crohns-disease/overview

[ii] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/crohns-disease/