03/12/2025
🔷Crohn’s and Colitis awareness week
🔷Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) that cause painful inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract. Crohn's can affect any part of the digestive tract from mouth to a**s, while ulcerative colitis is limited to the large intestine. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fatigue, and can also affect other body parts like joints and eyes. Treatment varies, with options including medication, dietary changes, and surgery, and while there is no cure, people can live full lives with proper management.
🔷What they are
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Both are long-term conditions that cause inflammation in the gut, which can affect how the body digests food, absorbs nutrients, and eliminates waste.
Crohn's Disease: Inflammation can occur anywhere in the digestive tract.
Ulcerative Colitis: Inflammation and ulcers are confined to the large intestine.
Microscopic Colitis: Another form of colitis where inflammation is present but there are no visible ulcers.
IBD-U: Sometimes it's not possible to distinguish between Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, so individuals may be diagnosed with IBD Unclassified.
🔷Symptoms
Belly cramps and pain
Diarrhea
Constipation
Re**al bleeding
Fatigue
Reduced appetite and weight loss
Fever
Anemia
Symptoms can also appear outside the gut, such as joint pain, eye inflammation, and skin rashes.
🔷Treatment and management
There is no cure, but there are treatments to help manage symptoms.
Medication: Options include tablets, injections, drips, and enemas.
Diet: Some people find that changing their diet helps, but it can be challenging and may affect their social life.
Surgery: In some cases, surgery to remove a part of the intestine is the best option.
Pain relief: Over-the-counter painkillers like paracetamol may help with pain, but it is important to stick to the recommended dose and speak with your doctor before taking any new medicine.
Flare-ups: Periods when symptoms are more active and difficult to manage.
Remission: Periods of good health when symptoms are absent or minimal.
Important considerations
Not the same as IBS: IBD is different from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), which has some similar symptoms but is a different condition with different treatments.
🔷Lifelong conditions: Both Crohn's and colitis are lifelong conditions.
🔷Diagnosis: A diagnosis is made by a doctor based on your symptoms, a physical exam, and possibly further tests like blood tests, stool tests, endoscopy, or scans.
