Crohn’s disease is a type of IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease). It occurs in small intestine and in your colon. Experts are not sure how it emerges from nowhere in your body and how it can be cured.
It is usually due to inflammation of digestive tract and causes pain in your abdomen. Experts are trying to discover its causes at this point. There is more to research about it. All the information currently available is not enough to cure Crohn’s disease. It is a chronic, long-term condition which is life threatening too.
Its symptoms vary from person to person. For some people it can be fatal or for some it can be mild but long term. Symptoms usually develop gradually over the period and they can get worst too. At some point you may also have to signs of symptoms but should look carefully for your health. Some of them are given below:
- Diarrhea: In CD your condition can go mild to severe. Sometimes you may experience blood and mucus in your stool. You will an urge to empty your bowel but you could not do so.
- Pain: The pain caused by CD may vary from person to person but one can feel the severity of it. You can feel the in lower right side of your abdomen. You may feel constant pain in your stomach due to CD.
- Ulcer: The raw areas in your gut may bleed due to the severity of CD. This causes blood in stool.
- Fatigue: People with CD symptoms will feel tired and can be led to fever.
- Appetite: Due to Inflammation in your intestine you may experience loss of appetite.
- Weight Loss: Due to appetite loss you may experience weight loss.
- Anemia: Severe loss of blood in stool may lead you to anemia1.
- Rectal Bleeding: Your anus skin can become cracked which can lead you to severe pain and bleeding.
Sometimes it is possible that you may consider these symptoms for another disease like stomach disorder, food poisoning or an allergy. But you should consult to your doctor if the condition remains the same.
If the disease further progress, then symptoms may severe and can cause perianal fistula2. Ulcer can be developed from the mouth to your anus. It can cause you joints and skin inflammation.
Doctors are not yet clear about the cause of Crohn’s Disease, but many factors can be the reason for your disease. The immune system is one of the top factors because many diseases are caused by autoimmune, and there is no evidence of how it happened.
Genetic problems can be a cause to the disease. You have to look upon if any of your family member had it or not. Previously, doctors have suspected that lack of diet and stress were the cause of CD but they do not support this theory at all. A bacterium or a virus can be a cause to it. Smoking can be a major cause to the disease.
These are included:
- Ethnicity: It can affect anyone at any age but white people have the highest risk of developing it. People from Eastern Europe Jewish descent are at high risk of developing it. However, people living in North America and UK are at risk too.
- Age Factor: It can be occurred at any age in any condition. Youngsters are at higher risk according to the study. People before their 30s are likely to have seen with this disease.
- Family History: If one of your close relatives has it, then you are at risk too. They can be including siblings, parents or child. A suggested that 1 out of 5 people in a family may develop this disease.
- Smoking: It is the well-known cause of many diseases. If you are a heavy smoker then you are at risk of developing many internal disease and Crohn’s disease can be one of them. It can make the disease worst and lead you to the surgery. if you smoke then you must stop. Otherwise, you will be at great risk of having surgery.
- Medications: Sometimes, the use of certain medicines may lead you to CD. You will never know until unless what is cooking in your body for a long time.
If the symptoms are persistent then it is the sign of complications may arise. Some of the complications are stated below:
- Obstruction of Bowel: It can destroy the internal wall of intestines over the period. It may narrow the intestines and the digestive content may not pass freely or may block the intestines. In this situation, a surgery will be required to remove the diseased part of the intestine.
- Ulcer: The inflammation caused by CD may lead you to the ulcer. There can be sores from your mouth to anus due to CD.
- Fistulas: When ulcer spreads further through intestines, it creates fistulas which is an abnormal connection between the body parts. It can develop between your intestine and the skin or maybe with other organs. Around or near the anal area is the most common kind of it. At some point it can be life threatening for you, if not treated on time.
- Anal Fissure: A small tear in the tissue between the skin and the anus which can be infected. It leads you to very painful bowel movements.
- Lack of Nutrients: Diarrhea, cramps and abdomen issues make it very hard for you to eat and digest the contents of the food. Your intestine is not working properly and could not absorb the necessary nutrients in order to keep you running.
There is no single test which can diagnose exactly that a person is suffering from CD. They can only examine you for some symptoms which can be a cause of Crohn’s Disease. Some of the diagnoses are given below:
- Blood tests can be an indicator to the disease which can tell us the potential of having it.
- Stool test can be a sign to the symptoms if blood present in it.
- Endoscopy can be applied.
- CT-Scans, MRI Scans can be conducted.