Inflammatory bowel disease also includes a condition called ulcerative colitis which involves the entire colon and is much more likely to result in colon cancer while Crohn s disease can cause inflammation and ulceration in segmental areas anywhere along the path from the mouth to the anus. There is a definite genetic predisposition to Crohn s disease that is influenced by environmental factors. All patients who come to their physician with complaints of chronic diarrhea, which can be bloody or not, need to have stool cultures and other tests to rule out parasitic or bacterial toxins which could cause it. Your physician will certainly want to have the intestinal tract evaluated with endoscopy and biopsies taken can help differentiate different causes of inflammatory bowel disease. Blood in the stool is best controlled by reducing the intestinal inflammation.
Nutritional deficiencies are common due to malabsorption.
Joint problems are also common. Treatments which can reduce the inflammation are varied and include glucocorticoids, 6-mercaptopurine, azathoprine, methotrexate, antibiotics, Remicade, Cyclosporine, antioxidants, and nutritional therapy. Sometimes surgery is necessary if there are strictures present inside the bowels due to the intense inflammation. Once an episode of Crohn s disease is resolved, then the issue turns to how to keep it coming back-maintennance therapy. This has been a very brief overview of the volumes of material available about Crohn s disease and you should certainly be followed by a physician familiar with Crohn s disease and its treatment.