![]() |
print the page | ![]() |
email the page | ![]() |
![]() |
- What is crohn's disease?
- Symptoms of crohn's disease
- Causes of crohn's disease
- Prevention of crohn's disease
- Risk factors for crohn's disease
- Complications of crohn's disease
- When to see a doctor about crohn's disease
- Diagnosis of crohn's disease
- Conventional treatment of crohn's disease
- Alternative/complementary treatment of crohn's disease
- Living with crohn's disease
- Caring for someone with crohn's disease
Conventional treatment of Crohn's disease
Mild Crohn's disease
Treatment of Crohn's disease (less than four stools per day with no other major gastrointestinal symptoms):
- Topical treatment - a variety of topical treatments can be used to treat symptoms, especially of they occur in the lower end of the colon or anus:
- Enema - a corticosteroid enema is placed in the rectum as a retention enema to help reduce symptoms
- Suppository or foam - a corticosteroid suppository is placed in the rectum as a retention suppository to help reduce symptoms
- Medication - a number of different medications are prescribed depending on symptoms:
- Aminosalicylates - such as sulfasalazine, mesalazine, olsalazine are used for mild to moderate Crohn's disease
- Antibiotics - are used to treat Crohn's disease and the complications of Crohn's disease (such as fistulas and abscesses)
- Glucocorticoids - such as prednisolone, hydrocortisone, budesonide are used to treat Crohn's disease (and also ulcerative colitis) because their anti-inflammatory properties act very quickly to reduce symptoms. Long-term, these types of drugs can cause a variety of side effects and should never be stopped abruptly as this can cause disruption to hormone levels and cause serious ill health (the dose needs to be tapered gradually to avoid this)
- Vitamin B12 and iron shots - these are given through shots or via a drip as the intestines may not absorb them properly and can cause anaemia through the lack of iron and/or vitamin B12 (a deficiency of either can cause anaemia)
Advertisement
Moderate to severe Crohn's disease
Treatment of moderate to severe Crohn's disease (more than four stools per day with other major gastrointestinal symptoms):
- Immunosuppressants - such as cyclosporine, methotrexate and thiopurine agents are used to treat active Crohn's disease (and ulcerative colitis) and to maintain remission in people that have not responded to other drug therapy (glucocorticoids and antibiotics). Thiopurine agents are excellent at helping to heal fistulas. The only downside to these medications is that they can often take months to reach their full effects. The other disadvantage is that using these drugs long term may suppress the immune system too much and raise risk of infection, plus there is also a small risk of lymphoma (cancer of the lymph glands) when using these drugs long term
- Intravenous iron and vitamin B12 - these nutrient are given through shots or a drip as the intestines may not be able to absorb them properly and this can cause anaemia through the lack of iron and/or vitamin B12 (a deficiency of either can cause anaemia)
- Electrolyte and fluid replacement - when inflammatory bowel disease is really severe, replacement fluids including the electrolyte minerals (chloride, sodium, potassium) are given via a drip (usually in hospital) to replace the fluids and electrolytes lost through diarrhoea (and vomiting)
- Total parenteral nutrition - if the Crohn's disease is really severe and absorption of food is greatly impaired because of bowel obstruction, or due to inability to absorb nutrients at all because of the severity of the disease, then total parenteral nutrition must be given via drip in hospital, which allows the gastrointestinal tract to rest and heal. This provides all the nutritional requirements through the blood so that nothing goes through the bowel and this enables the inflammation and other symptoms of the bowel to be healed
Surgery
Surgery is not often recommended as a treatment for Crohn's disease, because once it is performed, the need for recurrent surgery increases.
The most likely reasons for surgery are for serious complications of this condition such as: fistulas, abscesses, internal bleeding, perforation, cancer, strictures and bowel blockages.
Advertisement
Sections: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
< 8: diagnosis 10: alternative treatment >