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 Publishinghttp://www.eirelanderpublishing.com
http://www.skaymarshall.com
https://www.facebook.com/sandra.marshall.98
http://www.amazon.com/author/sandramarshall
7 comments:
Thanks Sandy...very informative and I do know two people with the disease. One is a very serious case and the other a more mild. Both cause the person(s) much consternation.
I have found in my research that it is more common than one originally thought or perhaps it is because it is becoming more easily identified.
Thanks
Kari
I'm sorry to hear about your stepson. I imagine it's harder for children to deal with the food choices. Who doesn't want that yummy pizza?
I know that I have Irritable Bowel, mostly caused by stress and that my children also have it. Certain foods like the ones you pointed out, can be triggers. We just weigh the pain and suffering with the choices we make because it is so hit or miss for us. :)
Thank you for informing so many!
You're welcome, Kari. It is becoming a recognized disease, but it has no cure. The ones who suffer with it are exhausted all the time, and the pain is horrible. I'm just starting to understand the disease myself.
Melissa, my stepson is in his 50's, but the disease started a long time ago.
I have Irritable Bowel, too, but it doesn't begin to be the problem that Crohn's disease is.
Last week, I forgot to announce the winner for one of my books.
Drum roll! Kari is the winner.
Great post, chrons disease is an auto immune disease that can effect any part of the internal digestive system like you said from the mo uth to the anus. And yes stress does contibute To the remission or relapsing of the disease. The only true way to know if you have the disease it by tissue biopsy. Knowing family history can also help in diagnosing earlier than later and it chrons can have some of the similar symptoms of other disease.Great post. TNf, s are the most effective source of hoping for remission, however they have severe side effects. Some side effects are even contracting cancers such as lymphoma which is the trade off. One horrible disease for another. Thank you for educating others about this horrible disease.
Thank you, Anonymous, for letting us know about the side effects and the possibility of contracting cancer.
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