Crohn's Disease

I became interested in Crohn's disease because I know two people with this disease, and one is my youngest stepson. For this reason I decided I wanted to know more about Crohn's disease. 

You're probably saying to yourself about now:  What is Crohn's disease?   It is one of two diseases of the gastrointestinal tract called Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).  The other is ulcerative colitis.  Crohn's disease causes inflammation of the digestive tract.  In some people only the last part of the small intestine (ileum) is involved, while in others the large intestine may be affected as well. 

Another question might be:  What are the symptoms of Crohn's disease?  Crohn's symptoms vary but can include bloody bowel movements, severe frequent diarrhea, mouth sores, joint pain, fever, body ache, exhaustion and severe intestinal cramping and pain.

The next question you might ask if you have Crohn's disease is:  How did I get Crohn's?   An exact cause is not known, but if someone in your family has it, you're at risk.  Also, people of European or Jewish descent are at higher risk.  Also, smoking makes Crohn's disease worse. 

If you have Crohn's disease you will need to be on a special diet, have a gastroenterologist and be prepared for a possible Crohn's flare, which is a worsening of the disease.  Stress will worsen this disease, so it is important to stay stress free.  This disease can affect women as well as men, although, the two people I know with it are men. 

Here are two sites to go to if you are interested in learning more about Crohn's disease.  http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/d/LBLN/living-with-crohns/launch/?ap=1003 and http://www.ccfa.org/

This link will tell you the foods to avoid if you have Crohn's. http://www.healthcentral.com/videos/cf/ibd/crohns-disease-foods-to-avoid?ap=2000

Crohn's disease is not something you can mess around with, and there are no guarantees anything will work, or keep you in remission.  However, there are new studies going on and one such study is in Phase III of the clinical trials.  

Thank you for reading my blog.  Have a great week, and I'll see you next Sunday.

Sandra K. Marshall, Author

@ Eirelander Publishing
http://www.eirelanderpublishing.com
http://www.skaymarshall.com
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Our Rights

This is a topic I have been giving a lot of thought to lately.  Are we losing our rights to make our own decisions?  What do you think?

A few examples below:

There is no smoking allowed in restaurants and most public places these days.  That right has been taken away from smokers.  (I don't smoke, but that's someone's right.)

There's talk of no soda's in New York (not sure if this is for everyone or just obese people)

I've heard they want to do away with cupcakes in schools because of the sugar content.  (I do like my sweets.)

Rove Versus Wade - Abortion or not.  (If this were overturned it would take a right away from someone. Personally, I don't like the idea of abortion, but it's not my decision.  I've never had one.)

McDonald's - There are people who want to close McDonald's because of all the calories in their food.  (I like a Big Mac on occasion)

I could give more cases, but I think this is enough for you to get the idea. None of these examples have affected me, but what I'm concerned about is where does it end?

All of these instances are for our good or to save babies.  Okay, I think abortions are wrong, but at the same time I believe in the right for women to make their own choice.  The time is going to come when something you want the right to do will be taken away from you and me.  It scares me, and I think you should be scared to.

On a lighter note, Romance Books 4 Us is having their Christmas in July contest.  For details go to http://romancebooks4us.com

That's it for this week.  I won't be seeing you next Sunday because I will be on vacation.  I will be back on July 22nd with a new blog.

I hope everyone can stay cool this summer.

Hugs,
Sandra K. Marshall
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com
http://www.amazon.com/author/sandramarshall