Do you suddenly feel frequent pain in the abdominal area? Do you have more regular diarrhea episodes? They may be signals that send the digestive system to tell us it is not working properly. One of the most persistent diseases you can face is Crohn’s disease, a chronic condition believed to have an autoimmune origin. We explain what it consists of, what the symptoms of the disease are, and how it is treated.
What Is Crohn’s Disease?
Crohn’s disease is a chronic disease that causes inflammation and redness in certain parts of the intestine and digestive system. People who suffer from it can have a more or less normal life, although their nature makes them able to have specific episodes of severe discomfort or more intense conditions. Although it is more common in the intestinal wall, what is known today about this inflammatory bowel disease indicates that it can affect any point of the digestive tract, that is, from the mouth to the anus.
Is there a typical patient profile with Crohn’s disease? While its origin has been studied without finding conclusive evidence, the truth is that IBD can occur in anyone, whether it is a child or an adult. However, there is a certain “pattern” that allows inferring that there are people more likely to develop it, especially young people (between 20 and 29 years old) with relatives with the disease, who are also smokers. A certain predominance has been found in Jews, pointing to a genetic origin that is still under study.
Causes
Thus, so far, and despite decades of research on this disease, the causes that precipitate it are not clear. There is some consensus in the scientific community that it could be due to a cocktail of genetic, immune, and environmental factors that favor inflammation of the digestive tract. Stress and food, for their part, have been ruled out as triggers, but it is intensifying elements of the consequences.
Risk factors for Ileitis
The various research that try to shed light on this chronic intestinal disease point to several risk factors that make certain people more prone to it.
Thus, most people who have been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease are under 30 years of age, belong to the white race (although African populations of African origin in Europe and the United States have a higher incidence), and have relatives with a history. Is it a hereditary disease? Everything points to genetics having a great weight, yes.
On the other hand, smoking is also a risk factor, and at the same time an incentive when it develops. Ultimately, the environment also seems to have an important responsibility for the onset of bowel disease.
However, medicines such as ibuprofen are not related to the causes, although they are the intensity with which it affects.
Symptoms of Crohn’s Disease
The symptomatology associated with Crohn’s disease is very diverse. From the onset of severe and/or continuous abdominal pains to episodes of diarrhea, the appearance of blood in the stool or the area of the anus, segregation of fluid through it, or the appearance of ulcers and sores on the skin and mouth. Fistulas may also appear, which in turn segregate feces, pus, or blood.
Less common is the feeling of greater fatigue, joint pains, or the appearance of calculations. Although, usually, it is diagnosed between 20 and 29 years, it can also be shown in children. In these cases, less growth and a delay in maturation of the child’s body are observed.
This Affects The Disease of the Organism
What are the complications of Crohn’s disease? What does a person experience with this chronic intestinal disease? As with the symptoms and causes, the life experience with this pathology is different in each patient.
Some people show intestinal obstruction, which generates problems with appetite or processing of food, poisoning the body in the most extreme cases not diagnosed and treated.
In others, inflammation of the wall of the intestine creates fistulas or tunnels between organs or between the skin and organs. It is very common for them to become infected and seggar. If they appear in the anus they can cause tears, great pain, and bleeding. Very painful infected abscesses or cavities, ulcers, and sores may also occur at any point in the intestinal/digestive system, and even inflammation and discomfort may occur in joints or skin.
Treatment
Is there treatment for Crohn’s disease? Yes, yes. The most common is to apply a treatment based on anti-inflammatory drugs, and immunosuppressants so that the immune system does not generate a response and with intestinal reconstruction elements. The goal, in addition to alleviating the patient’s symptomatic picture and allowing him to lead a normal life, also helps prevent new episodes or complications.
The operation is usually used as the last cartridge when a hole has been generated in the intestine if there is a severe obstruction in the intestine, uncontrollable bleeding, or when treatment has no effect.
Dieting can be a determining factor for a person with Crohn’s disease to neutralize episodes and prevent others in the future.
Crohn’s Disease: What Diet Is More Appropriate And What Foods to Restrict
Both in the outbreak phase of the intestinal disease and in the various episodes, a complete and balanced diet, although it does NOT cure the disease – there is no cure today – relieves symptoms and processes. It’s a mistake to eliminate some food groups. It can even be counterproductive and generate malnutrition, which aggravates the crisis.
The most important thing is to trust the specialist who will select the foods that relieve symptoms and prevent further damage to the mucosa of the intestine, prioritizing foods of easy digestion, but always taking care of the tolerance of the body itself:
· Cereals, always sugar-free, and never whole grains
· Potatoes or sweet potatoes
· Eggs
· Meat and fish
· Vegetables
· Legumes
· Vegetable drinks
Whenever possible, made without fat (vapor, oven, boiled). In case of strong intolerances, and always under medical prescription, vitamin supplements can be taken.