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Crohn's Disease

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammation of the small or large intestine, or both. The majority of cases involve the terminal ileum, the lowest part of the small intestine. The inflammation can cause pain and make the intestines empty frequently, resulting in diarrhea. About 6 to 7 out of 100,000 people develop Crohn's disease.

Signs and Symptoms

Crohn's disease is often accompanied by these signs and symptoms.

What Causes It?

While a specific cause of Crohn's disease is not known, the most popular theory is that the body's immune system reacts to a virus or a bacterium by causing ongoing inflammation in the intestine.

Who's Most At Risk?

The following categories of people are at higher than average risk for Crohn's disease.

What to Expect at Your Provider's Office

Your health care provider can help make a diagnosis and guide you in determining which treatment or combination of therapies will work best for you. A physical exam may reveal signs of malnutrition, an abdomen that is tender or distended, hyperactive bowel, or openings in the intestinal wall. In addition, your health care provider may have laboratory tests done on your blood, and may send you for barium X rays, ultrasound, radiography, or other types of imaging.

Treatment Options

Treatment Plan

Some treatments, including surgery, may delay recurrence of the disease or provide temporary relief from symptoms, but there is no cure for Crohn's disease.

Drug Therapies

Your provider may prescribe the following medications.

Surgical and Other Procedures

Seventy percent of patients with Crohn's disease undergo surgery to correct abscesses, openings in the intestinal wall, obstruction, and other problems caused by the disease. Repeated surgeries are sometimes necessary.

Complementary and Alternative Therapies

A comprehensive treatment plan for Crohn's disease may include a range of complementary and alternative therapies. Mind-body therapies, such as meditation, yoga, and tai chi may help reduce the frequency and severity of symptoms during active disease.

Nutrition

Following these nutritional tips can help minimize effects of the disease and promote better health.

Potentially beneficial nutrient supplements include the following.

Herbs

The use of certain herbal remedies are also known to minimize effects of the disease and promote better health. These herbs include the following.

Homeopathy

An experienced homeopath can prescribe a regimen for treating Crohn's disease that is designed especially for you. Some of the most common acute remedies for diarrhea are listed below.

Acute dose is three to five pellets of 12X to 30C every one to four hours until symptoms are relieved.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture may help normalize digestive function.

Massage

Massage may help relieve stress.

Prognosis/Possible Complications

Within 10 years of a diagnosis of Crohn's disease, 60 to 70 percent of patients have surgery, with 70 percent requiring a second surgery one year later. Patients can expect to have periods of remission. However, the mortality for people with Crohn's disease is twice that of the general population. Complications from the disease include bowel obstruction, abscesses, and openings, as well as a younger onset and higher incidence of colon cancer than the general population.

Following Up

Patients should be closely monitored during periods of active disease. Due to the chronic nature of this disease and its long duration, counseling and support may be helpful.

Supporting Research

Dambro MR. Griffith's 5-Minute Clinical Consult. 1999 ed. Baltimore, Md: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.; 1999.

Fauci AS, Braunwald E, Isselbacher KJ, et al, eds. Harrison' s Principles of Internal Medicine. 14th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 1998.

Morrison, R. Desktop Guide to Keynotes and Confirmatory Symptoms. Albany, Calif: Hahnemann Clinic Publishing; 1993:15, 121, 305.

Murray MT, Pizzorno JE. Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. 2nd ed. Rocklin, Calif: Prima Publishing; 1998:243, 250.

Rakel RE, ed. Conn's Current Therapy. 50th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: W.B. Saunders; 1998.

Yamada T. Textbook of Gastroenterology. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott-Raven Publishers; 1995.

Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics. 29th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott-Raven Publishers, 1998.

Werbach M. Nutritional Influences on Illness. New Canaan, Conn: Keats Publishing Inc; 1987: 142-148.

Copyright © 2000 Integrative Medicine Communications

The publisher does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of the information or the consequences arising from the application, use, or misuse of any of the information contained herein, including any injury and/or damage to any person or property as a matter of product liability, negligence, or otherwise. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made in regard to the contents of this material. No claims or endorsements are made for any drugs or compounds currently marketed or in investigative use. This material is not intended as a guide to self-medication. The reader is advised to discuss the information provided here with a doctor, pharmacist, nurse, or other authorized healthcare practitioner and to check product information (including package inserts) regarding dosage, precautions, warnings, interactions, and contraindications before administering any drug, herb, or supplement discussed herein.