Sometimes, inflammation may also affect the entire digestive tract, including the mouth, esophagus, stomach, duodenum, appendix, or anus. Crohn's disease is also called ileitis or enteritis. Crohn's disease affects males and females equally. It appears to run in some families, with about 20 percent of people with Crohn's disease having a blood relative with some form of inflammatory bowel disease. The following are the most common symptoms for Crohn's disease, however, each individual may experience symptoms differently.
Some people have long periods of remission, sometimes for years, when they are free of symptoms.
There is no way to predict when a remission may occur or when symptoms will return. The symptoms of Crohn's disease may resemble other conditions or medical problems. Consult your physician for a diagnosis. There are many theories about what causes Crohn's disease, but none has yet been proven. One theory suggests that some agent, perhaps a virus or a bacterium, affects the body's immune system and triggers an inflammatory reaction in the intestinal wall.