The Cramping Condition: What is Crohn's Disease?

What is Crohn's disease? Well now, that's a great question! If you have been suffering from Crohn's disease it is important that you completely understand exactly what is Crohn's disease so that you can seek the correct treatment to best to benefit your overall health.

A well known inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease may also be referred to as enteritis or even ileitis. With Crohn's disease your gastrointestinal or GI tract becomes inflamed which leads to the symptoms of Crohn's disease. This condition can attack any portion of the GI tract from the mouth to the anus, but most often it attacks the lower part of the small intestine, known as the Ilium.

The inflammation and edema associated with Crohn's disease runs deep into the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. With the inflammation and edema running so deep, it is easy to understand that this is where the pain associated with Crohn's disease comes from. The diarrhea commonly associated with Crohn's disease is also a result of this deep tissue inflammation. The swelling of the G.I. tract also causes it to frequently empty the contents of the bowel resulting in pain and diarrhea.

When you first present to your health care provider describing your abdominal symptoms, it may be initially difficult to get a definitive diagnosis of Crohn's disease. This is because Crohn's disease so often mimics other intestinal diseases such as IBS or irritable bowel syndrome and even ulcerative colitis. Two things which can help your health care provider to determine whether you have Crohn's disease or a less invasive bowel condition are the facts that Crohn's disease has the potential to invade every layer of the intestinal tract while this is not true with other conditions and Crohn's disease also can present itself with areas of healthy bowel tissue in between areas of horrifically diseased bowel tissue.

Currently it seems that Crohn's disease is not partial to the sexes, it interrupts the lives of both men and women equally. However, research does seem to indicate that Crohn's disease does seem to run in families. Many patients who suffer with Crohn's disease also have a blood relative who is fighting the same. If not with Crohn's disease itself, with another inflammatory bowel condition.

Between the various races, African Americans currently seem to be at a decreased risk for developing Crohn's disease; however, people of Jewish descent actually seem to have a higher risk. When looking at the various ages, Crohn's disease seems to most often affect the young adult population, particularly those between the ages of 20 and 30.

Crohn's disease must be aggressively managed in an effort to regain control of your life. It is not something you can choose to manage one day and then ignore it the next day. Working closely with your gastroenterologist is of vital importance for you to regain some semblance of control in your health life.

It's no surprise that Crohn's disease can certainly begin to control your life. With the pain and explosive diarrhea which often accompany this condition, Crohn's disease can definitely begin to dictate your daily activities. You simply must make a decision to manage it as best as possible to yourself. Working closely with your physician can allow you to retain control of your bowel condition and your activities of daily living. After all, who wants to go out on the town and worry every minute if you are going to need to run off to the bathroom!

While it may be a challenge for you to learn to manage your Crohn's disease, it is certainly worth the effort. Often times the abdominal cramping and diarrhea can seem as if they are taking control of every minute of your day. Step up to the challenge and work with your doctor until you get the management of your Crohn's disease symptoms right!

What is Crohn's disease? It is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that deserves your full attention as well as the aggressive treatment and management by your health care team.

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