Crohn’s disease

Medical: Enteritis regionalis, Ileitis terminalis

FrequencyEpidemiology

Occurrence in the population Crohn’s disease can be observed all over the world and in all ethnic origins. More and more people fall ill with it every year. People between the ages of 15 and 35 are most frequently affected.

The disease Crohn’s disease

Crohn’s disease can affect the entire digestive tract – from the esophagus to the rectum. However, the individual sections are affected with varying frequency: The inflammation permeates all wall layers of the digestive tract and usually comes in waves. The acute episode is characterized by thickened intestinal walls, among other things.

The spread of the clinical picture in the small and large intestine is usually discontinuous (so-called “skip lesions”). Endoscopically (e.g. during a colonoscopy), a so-called cobblestone relief of the intestinal mucosa can typically be seen.

Relapse of Crohn’s disease

Crohn’s disease is a chronic disease that runs in waves. This means that phases of high disease activity and major complaints alternate with phases of low to no disease activity and correspondingly low complaints. The triggers of relapses in Crohn’s disease have not yet been clearly identified.

However, it is clear that they can differ from patient to patient. It is assumed that the interaction of several factors triggers the relapse. These factors can be psychological stress, certain foods, smoking, alcohol or certain medications.

In the course of their illness, many patients develop a feeling for which factors are decisive for them and thus learn to actively avoid relapses. Unfortunately, however, this is not possible for all patients, as the course of the disease is also genetically determined. The signs of a relapse vary from patient to patient, some initially notice only a slight “grumbling” in the abdomen with mild diarrhea, while others develop massive diarrhea and abdominal pain from one day to the next.

What they all have in common, however, is an increasing worsening of the typical symptoms of the disease in a relatively short time. Severe attacks can also lead to fever (body temperature above 38.0° Celsius), which is a sign of a severe inflammatory process in the body. Fever-reducing medication can help here, in consultation with the treating physician.

About one third of all Crohn’s disease patients suffer from joint complaints in the form of pain or inflammation. In relapses, the large joints are more likely to be affected, for example the knee or elbow joints. Outside of the relapses, the smaller joints on the fingers or toes are more likely to cause pain.

In general, a doctor should be consulted whenever an impending relapse is suspected in order to contain the inflammation as quickly as possible and to prevent damage to the intestines or the rest of the body. Crohn’s disease has its peak between the ages of 15 and 30, so it is more likely to be a disease of the younger generation and therefore often occurs in children. The symptoms do not differ from those of adults, so the most common symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal pain, flatulence and a reduced general condition with a feeling of illness.

These symptoms by no means always have to occur together, but often occur alone. In children, however, there is also the symptom of growth retardation, which may also be the only symptom of Crohn’s disease. In order to ensure normal growth of the child, rapid diagnosis and therapy is therefore all the more important!

The same measures and medication are used for therapy as for adults. In order to prevent late damage, the physicians take even greater care than in adults to dose the medication as low as possible but as high as necessary. With optimal medication, normal development with a very good quality of life can usually be achieved.

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All articles in this series:

  1. Crohn’s disease
  2. Causes Crohn’s disease
  3. Therapy
  4. Homeopathy for Crohn’s disease
  5. Prognosis