Crohn’s disease
Crohn’s disease is a type of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease). This is because the illness causes the digestive tract to become inflamed resulting in an individual experiencing symptoms like fatigue, severe diarrhea, malnutrition, abdominal pains, and weight loss. The inflammation of the digestive tract associated with Crohn’s diseases can be located on the various parts of the digestive tract for different individuals suffering from this disease. When left untreated the inflammation linked to Crohn’s diseases usually spreads further and deeper into the other layers of the digestive tract leading to bowel complications. Crohn’s disease in Santa Monica is considered one of the most debilitating and painful illnesses, in some cases, it is considered life-threatening due to the associated complications. There is still no known cure for this disease but there are various therapies and treatments that can be used to minimize the intensity of the symptoms. Most therapies successfully provide long term solutions to the symptoms and give many individuals suffering from this illness the ability to function normally.
Crohn’s disease care
In many cases of Crohn’s diseases only the ileum part in the small intestine is affected, while in another category of people, only the colon is affected by the disease. The symptoms and signs exhibited by individuals suffering from Crohn’s disease can vary ranging from very mild symptoms to extremely severe symptoms. The symptoms will usually develop slowly with time but in rare cases the symptoms are sudden. Individuals suffering from Crohn’s disease will experience a remission period, this is a period of time in which the signs and symptoms of Crohn’s disease are inactive or non-existent. When the symptoms are active the individual will experience fever, blood-stained stool, sores in the mouth, fatigue, appetite loss, diarrhea, pain in the anus, weight loss, cramping or pain in the abdomen, skin inflammation, stunted growth, delayed development sexually in kids, liver inflammation, eye, and joint inflammation.
When to see a doctor
You should seek medical attention if you experience any of the above symptoms or your bowel movements are constantly changing. If any of the symptoms associated with Crohn’s disease such as stool that is stained with blood, abdominal pains, prolonged fever, sudden weight loss, diarrhea that does not stop even after using over the counter prescriptions or others that appear, you should consult your doctor.
Causes of Crohn’s disease
The root cause of this illness is still not precisely identified. Stress and diets have been among the top suspected causes by health experts, but doctors have identified that these two factors further aggravate the condition but do not actually cause it. Several factors such as an immune system that regularly malfunctions and inherited genes play a huge role in the development of the disease. Crohn’s disease can be triggered either by a bacterium or a virus, so when a malfunctioning immune system tries to eliminate the microorganism, the irregular response by the immune system causes the attack to be launched on the digestive tract cells as well. When it comes to genes as the cause of the illness, individuals from the same family often suffer from this illness making them more susceptible to being the contributing factor.
Risk factors
Some of the main risk factors associated with Crohn’s disease include the age of the individual, the ethnicity, family history, smoking of cigarettes, location and some types of medication like the Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
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