What is crohn's disease?

Crohn's disease is a lifelong inflammatory bowel disease. Parts of the digestive tract get swollen and irritated. The tract may have deep sores called ulcers. Crohn's disease usually occurs in the last part of the small intestine and the first part of the large intestine. But it can occur anywhere from the mouth to the anus.

The main symptoms of Crohn's disease are belly pain, diarrhea, fever, and weight loss. Some people may have constipation. Crohn's disease also sometimes causes problems with the joints, eyes, or skin. Symptoms may be mild, moderate, or severe. The disease can also go into remission. This means it is not active and there are no symptoms.

Bad attacks often have to be treated in the hospital. There your child can get medicines and liquids through a tube in a vein (I.V.). This gives the digestive system time to rest and recover.

Talk with your doctor about the best treatments. Treatments include:

• Medicines that help prevent or treat flare-ups of the disease.
• Surgery to remove part of the bowel. Surgery is done if there is an abnormal opening (fistula) in the bowel, an abscess, or a bowel obstruction. In some cases, surgery is needed if medicines don't work. But symptoms can return to other areas of the intestines after surgery.

Learning good self-care can help your child reduce symptoms and manage Crohn's disease.

Teens can be especially frustrated by this disease. Flare-ups may leave them feeling more dependent on their parents than they want to be. They may feel different from their friends. Counseling may help teens who are having a hard time coping with the disease.

Crohn's disease is an ongoing (chronic) condition that may flare up throughout your life. It affects different people in different ways. Some people may have only mild symptoms. Others may have severe symptoms or problems caused by Crohn's that, in rare cases, may be life-threatening.

Things that may cause Crohn's disease symptoms to flare up include medicines, infections, hormonal changes, lifestyle changes, and smoking.

The disease can also go into remission. This means that it is not active and you have no symptoms.

The main symptoms of Crohn's disease are belly pain and diarrhea (sometimes with blood). Losing weight without trying is another common sign.

Less common symptoms include mouth sores, bowel blockages, anal tears (fissures), and openings (fistulas) between organs.

Infections, hormonal changes, smoking, medicines, and lifestyle changes can cause your symptoms to flare up. Your symptoms may be mild, moderate, or severe.

Your treatment will depend on your symptoms and how bad they are. The main treatment for Crohn's disease is medicine. Mild symptoms may be treated with over-the-counter medicines to stop diarrhea. You may also use prescription medicines to treat and prevent symptoms. Some people need other treatments, such as surgery.

Surgery for Crohn's disease usually is needed if ongoing symptoms do not respond to medicine or if side effects of medicine cause other serious problems.

Surgery may be needed when you have:

• Bowel blockage (obstruction).
• Abscesses or tears (fissures) in the anal area or when abnormal connections (fistulas) form between two parts of the intestine or between the intestine and other internal organs.
• Holes (perforations) in the large intestine.
• Cancer or precancerous tissue.
• Severe disease that does not respond to other treatment.
• Severe bleeding.

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and do a physical exam. You may also have X-rays and lab tests to find out if you have Crohn's disease. You may have tests that look inside the colon, and you may have a biopsy.

Medicines usually are the treatment of choice for Crohn's disease. They can control or prevent inflammation in the intestines. They help to:

• Relieve symptoms.
• Promote healing of damaged tissues.
• Put the disease into remission. And they can keep it from flaring up again.
• Postpone the need for surgery.

They include:

• Aminosalicylates. Your doctor may recommend these medicines during a flare-up or at other times.
• Antibiotics. These treat infections that can occur with Crohn's disease.
• Biologics. Your doctor may have you try these medicines if other medicines for Crohn's disease haven't worked for you.
• Corticosteroids. They usually stop symptoms and put the disease in remission. But they aren't used as long-term treatment to keep symptoms from coming back.
• Immune modulators. You may take these if other medicines don't work, if your symptoms come back when you stop taking steroid medicines, or if your symptoms come back often, even with treatment.

Take your medicine exactly as prescribed. Don't take anti-inflammatory medicines, such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), or naproxen (Aleve). They may make your symptoms worse. Avoid foods that make your symptoms worse. And don't smoke.

Doctors don't know what causes Crohn's disease. You may get it because your immune system has an abnormal response to normal bacteria in your intestine. Other kinds of bacteria and viruses may also play a role in causing the disease. Crohn's disease may run in families. Smoking puts you at a higher risk.

Crohn's disease is a lifelong inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In Crohn's disease, parts of the digestive system get swollen and have deep sores called ulcers. This can result in symptoms such as belly pain and diarrhea.

Crohn's disease usually is found in the last part of the small intestine and the first part of the large intestine. But it can develop anywhere in the digestive tract, from the mouth to the anus.

Crohn's disease may be defined by the part of the digestive tract involved, such as the rectum and anus (perianal disease) or the area where the small intestine joins the large intestine (ileocecal disease).

Crohn's disease may cause sores, or ulcers, that tunnel through the intestine and into the nearby tissue. These are often around the anus and rectum. These tunnels, called fistulas, are a common problem with Crohn's disease. They may get infected. Crohn's disease can also cause anal fissures. These are narrow tears that extend from the muscles that control the anus (anal sphincters) up into the anal canal.

In long-term Crohn's disease, scar tissue may replace some of the inflamed or ulcerated intestines. This scar tissue can form blockages (bowel obstructions) or narrowed areas (strictures). These can prevent stool from passing through the intestines. Blockages in the intestines also can be caused by inflammation and swelling, which may improve with medicines. Sometimes blockages can only be treated with surgery.

Sometimes symptoms of Crohn's disease develop outside the digestive tract in other parts of the body. This can include in the eyes, liver, blood, and bones.