I am writing this assignment on the topic of Crohn’s disease. The reason that I am writing on this particular topic is because a friend of mine was recently diagnosed with this disease. I did not know much about Cohn’s as well and therefore decided to do more research using the Mayo Clinic site.
Crohn’s disease is defined as an inflammation in the lining of the bowels of the patient. Due to the inflammation, the patient experiences pain and discomfort. The pain is usually accompanied by diarrhea, dehydration, and sometimes severe malnutrition. If Crohn’s is left untreated it can result in other complications of deeper tissues lining the colon. The pain and discomfort can result in debilitating and life-threatening complications.
Every patient is different and Crohn’s, like many other diseases, can affect people differently. Crohn’s can affect the bowel, small intestine, lining of the large intestine, and sometimes even the stomach. Crohn’s is not always active. There are times that the disease is in remission but when the disease is in full force, the patient might experience extreme diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramping, blood in stool, ulcers, reduced appetite, and weight loss.
Doctors are not particularly sure what causes the disease, although it was suspected that it was due to stress. Even though doctors believe that stress can aggravate the symptoms, they tend to think that the disease is due to hereditary as well as a malfunction of the immune system. Doctors believe that when a bacterium enters the system the immune system tries to fight off the bacteria and also ends up attacking the good cells as well. Hereditary also plays a role because the doctors believe that Crohn’s affected patients have family members affected by it as well. They believe that there is a gene that plays a factor in being susceptible to the disease. Studies show that more than 1 in 5 people with the disease have a family member affected as well.
Crohn’s tend to be diagnosed in patients around the age of thirty. Smoking is also a factor in those patients who are diagnosed. Those patients who smoke and have a family history are at a higher risk of being diagnosed with the disease. Those patients who smoke are urged to stop smoking immediately.
The disease unfortunately can worsen with time. With time the patient diagnosed can have ulcers in the stomach and digestive tract. The colon walls can thin out, causing tears and bleeding. Crohn’s can also lead to malnutrition, increased chance of colon cancer, arthritis, inflammation of the eyes, skin, kidney stones, gallstones, and sometimes brittle bones.
In order for the doctor to diagnose the disease the patient might have a blood test, test of the sample run, colonoscopy, CT, ultrasound, MRI, or Endoscopy. These tests will allow the doctor to rule out any other possible diseases and be able to treat Cohn’s. The treatment of Crohn’s is usually anti-inflammatory drugs such as Corticosteroids and Mesalamine and immune system suppressors and vitamins to boost immunity. The patient is monitored closely through colonoscopies and blood tests. When these methods do not work, the doctor might suggest surgery to remove and repair the part of the colon that is damaged. The patient is to keep a healthy diet along with the use of medication and exercise.
Crohn’s affects the patient not only physically but emotionally as well. The patients are sometimes referred to a counselor or a psychologist in order to better understand the way that the disease makes them feel. They are urged to stay away from stress and follow up with their doctors when they feel that the disease is no longer in remission.
www.mayoclinic.com/health/crohns-disease/DS00104
