Crohn’s disease is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. It is a type of bowel disease, although it can erupt anywhere between the mouth and the anus. Crohn’s disease affects the digestive system of the body. However, most incidences of the disease manifest in the lower part of the small intestine or the early part of the large intestine. There can be perfectly normal parts of the bowel between severely affected parts.
Inflammation of the bowel can occur at any age. However, this mostly starts in the teens and extends into adulthood. Crohn’s disease can lead to various other diseases like colon cancer, arthritis, kidney stones, gallstones and skin ailments like eruptions and eczemas.
This disease affects around 400,000 and 600,000 people in North America. Estimates suggest that around 27 to 48 people in every 100,000 are affected by Crohn’s disease in Northern Europe. The incidence of Crohn’s disease is higher in women than in men. This is not an infectious disease.
Crohn’s disease gets its name from an American gastroenterologist surgeon, Burrill Bernard Crohn. Crohn, with two of his colleagues, described the disease in 1932. Together, they explained the presence of the disease in specific patients with inflammation of terminal ileum. A Polish surgeon, Antoni Lesniowski, had also described the disease as early as 1904.
Here are 12 Signs and Symptoms of Crohn’s Disease
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#12. Abdominal pain:
Most suffer from severe abdominal pain, specifically in the lower right area. This is the position of the ileum within your intestine. Many confuse Crohn’s disease for appendicitis in the initial days due to such pain. Pain could range from severe to unbearable. It could be a steady pain or occur after meals. Sometimes, it could start while eating. Pain could occur in bouts while doing physical exercises like jogging.
#11. Diarrhea:
Diarrhea could range from mild loose motions to severe and uncontrollable loose motions. Sometimes, fecal discharge could have blood or mucus with it. Sometimes, it could be a tendency to go to toilet but without passing anything. However, if your Crohn’s disease is concentrated only in the small intestine, you may not suffer from diarrhea.
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#10. Inflammation of Joints:
Severe pain in the joints of hands, knees, ankles, wrists, elbows, and legs could be a precursor of Crohn’s disease. Pain could seem to be shifting from one joint to another. This could be with inflammation and reddening of the eyes and in some cases of the liver. Although there is no specific reason for occurrence of such a symptom, there are various reported cases of prevalence of such symptoms with people affected by Crohn’s disease.
#9. Weight Loss and Malnutrition:
If Crohn’s disease affects the major part of your intestines, your body cannot absorb any nutrients from your food intake. This causes sudden and huge weight loss. In children, it manifests as malnutrition. This is due to the absence of essential vitamins and nutrients. It also causes stunted growth and delayed development of body tissues and mental health.
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#8. Swelling:
Some people experience a swelling in the lower right part of the abdomen. This swelling is of the size of a small grapefruit.
Sometimes it is firm while at other times it is soft. Softness indicates its presence in the small intestine while firmness indicates its presence in the large intestine, enlarged lymph glands, and surrounding tissue.
#7. Fatigue:
Insufficient nutrition and lack of proper absorption of food causes a lethargic and tired feeling. You lose your appetite overtime and at times develop irritable moods. All such factors together could cause a fever.
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$6. Ulcers:
This refers to the raw lining of the gut that causes bleeding. Ruptures on intestinal walls could cause ulcers. It is also common to develop mouth ulcers with Crohn’s disease. This causes passing of blood with stools.
#5. Anemia:
Loss of a lot of blood over a period of time could lead to anemia. Loss of blood is due to excessive flow of blood with stools.
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#4. Fever:
Fever could sometimes be a slight increase in body temperature. In some other cases, it could manifest as a high rise in body temperature due to a flare-up. It could be a daytime fever or occur at night causing sleep disturbances and night sweats.
#3. Anal fissures:
These are cracks around your anus. These cause pain and lot of discomfort. Sometimes small tag like skin or small skin lumps could appear around the anus.
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#2. Constipation:
This is among the rare symptoms of Crohn’s disease. Obstructions in the intestinal passage restrict thorough clearance of waste materials from your body. This leads to build up of such materials. It then causes nausea, pain, vomiting, and constipation.
#1. Intestinal Hole:
This is rare. This is due to increased thickness of the intestinal wall. This causes a hole to form on the outer wall of the intestine. This is very dangerous as outside bacteria could enter through this hole and cause severe infections, some of which could be life threatening.
Symptoms of Crohn’s diseases range from mild to severe. They could occur in isolation or in bouts. You enjoy perfect health in between bouts.
5 Types of Crohn’s Disease
Crohn’s disease affects your intestines. There are five different types of Crohn’s disease according to the part of intestine affected by the disease.
#1. Gastro duodenal Crohn’s Disease:
The affected part is the stomach and start of the small intestine popular as duodenum. Often, Crohn’s disease here is misinterpreted as an ulcer. Correct diagnosis could be possible only after the disease spreads into the lower parts of the small intestine. Common symptoms of this disease include nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, loss of appetite, and therefore excessive weight loss.
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#2. Jejunoileitis:
This is Crohn’s disease of the larger part of the small intestine, jejunum, lying between the ileum and duodenum. Your body absorbs maximum nutrients in the jejunum area. Crohn’s disease in this area could cause fistulas. Such fistulas could form a connection with other organs like the bladder and cause infections in associated organs. Symptoms of Jejunoileitis include diarrhea, mild to intense abdominal pain with cramps after meals, and malnutrition due to insufficient absorption of nutrients.
#3. Ileitis:
Ileum is the longest and last part of the small intestine, Crohn’s disease affecting this part of the intestine is Ileitis. Crohn’s disease here could cause fistulas due to serious inflammation. These cause severe pain the lower right part of abdomen with serious cramps. Insufficient and irregular absorption of nutrients could cause tingling of toes. Folate deficiency could cause anemia due to irregular development of red blood cells.
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#4. Ileocolitis:
This is the most common type of Crohn’s disease. It affects the lowest part of the small intestine, ileum, and the large intestine, colon. Since the ileum continues into the colon, Crohn’s disease also affects the ileocecal valve. Symptoms include severe pain in the abdomen area, anemic conditions, and diarrhea.
#5. Crohn's Colitis (Granulomatous Colitis):
This is Crohn’s disease affecting the colon. This type of Crohn’s disease may not affect the rectum. It causes inflammation in various parts of the colon. Common symptoms include rectal bleeding, diarrhea, fistulas, abscess, ulcers, and irritation around the anus. Joint pains and skin lesions also result due to this type of Crohn’s disease.
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