Welcome To Crohn's Disease Free!
Do you experience diarrhea on a constant basis? Do you feel fatigued all day long? You may be suffering Crohn’s disease. It is important to understand the symptoms and causes of Crohn’s disease to ensure that you have the proper diagnosis. Many times doctors use a blanket diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. This diagnosis is not detailed enough because Irritable Bowel Syndrome can mean that you have Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or even Celiac disease. Therefore, you need to have a detailed diagnosis because each form of Irritable Bowel Syndrome requires a different type of treatment and stems from a different cause.
What is Crohn’s disease?
Crohn’s disease is a disorder of your gastrointestinal tract. It is a chronic condition. If you suffer from Crohn’s disease then you usually experience diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue, and fevers on a daily basis. All of these symptoms can lead to weight loss.
What age group does Crohn’s disease affect?
Crohn’s disease can affect any age group. Usually, the symptoms are persistent and surface in children and young adults.
What populations are affected by Crohn’s disease?
Crohn’s disease can happen to anyone in any country of the world. However, developed countries such as North America and northern Europe have the highest incidents of Crohn’s disease. That may be due to the fact that Crohn’s disease is underreported in other areas.
Crohn’s disease can sometimes take years to diagnose because doctors are unsure of the cause and give a general diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Part of the reason it takes years to diagnosis Crohn’s disease is that its onset can be gradual. Plus, environmental factors need to be tested in order to accurately diagnosis Crohn’s disease.
How does Crohn’s disease affect the digestive tract?
Let’s first look at a normal digestive tract. Your digestive track goes from your mouth to your anus. Basically, you have a long tube that connects your mouth to your anus that goes through your body which is known as you gut. Your digestive tract helps your body digest food and send nutrients to your blood stream and other organs.
You eat food which is then consumed by potent acids in your stomach. The partially digested food then travels to your small intestine. The part of the partially digested food that is unable to be absorbed in your small intestine then goes onto your large intestine. Lastly, it goes through your colon prompting you to go to the bathroom.
If you have Crohn’s disease then your digestive tract is inflamed. The inflammation can happen at any point in your digestive tract between your mouth and your anus. The inflammation of Crohn’s disease affects the bowel. The majority of Crohn’s disease sufferers have inflammation in the small intestine and/or the large intestine. If inflammation is present in the colon then the condition is sometimes referred to as Crohn’s colitis.
What other conditions mimic the symptoms of Crohn’s disease?
There are a variety of Irritable Bowel Syndrome conditions that appear to be Crohn’s disease. For example, Celiac disease has similar symptoms. However, Celiac disease is the result of intolerance to gluten which causes your body to not absorb nutrients properly. Your best bet is to consult your doctor for a proper diagnosis.
