Crohn’s disease is an ongoing inflammation bowel disease of the digestive tract, also referred to as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that can cause ulcerations which is breaks in the lining of the small and large intestines. Crohn’s disease is named after the physician who described the disease in 1932 (www.gicare.com). Crohn’s disease can affect any area of the GI tract, from the mouth to the anus, but it most commonly affects the lower part of the small intestine, called the ileum. The swelling extends deep into the lining of the affected organ. The swelling can cause pain and can make the intestines empty frequently, resulting in diarrhea.
Crohn’s Disease Rosa Capela Kaplan University: SC131 January 21, 2015 What is Crohn’s Disease? Crohn’s Disease is an inflammatory bowel disease, causing the lining of your digestive tract to flame up. When the disease is active many symptoms can be caused, including abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue (extreme tiredness), weight loss, and malnutrition (lack of proper nutrition). Inflammation of the skin eyes and joints, inflammation of the liver of bile ducts and delayed growth or sexual development, in children are also signs and symptoms of Crohn’s Disease. Scientists believe Crohn’s Disease is caused by a combination of these 3 factors: Immune system problems, genetics, and environmental factors.
The following are the most common symptoms in patients with Cystic Fibrosis: very salty tasting skin, persistent cough with phlegm, frequent lung infections, wheezing and shortness of breath, poor growth despite a healthy appetite, frequent greasy, bulky stools or difficulty in bowel movements. In addition to these symptoms, there are other medical issues such as sinusitis, nasal polyps, Pneumothorax (a collapsed lung due to intense coughing), Hemoptysis (coughing up blood), liver disease, gallstones, diabetes, and clubbing of the fingers and toes. (A condition marked by extremely thickened fingertips and toes due to decreased oxygen in the
Crohn's and a related disease, ulcerative colitis, are the two main disease categories that belong to a larger group of illnesses called inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (Crohn's & Collitis Foundation of America, 2011). While the exact cause of Crohn's disease is unknown, the condition is linked to a problem with the body's immune system response. The inflammation caused by Crohn's disease often spreads deep into the layers of affected bowel tissue. Like ulcerative colitis, another common IBD, Crohn's disease can be both painful and debilitating, and sometimes may lead to life-threatening complications. While there is no known cure for Crohn's disease, therapies can greatly reduce the signs and symptoms of Crohn's disease and even bring about long-term remission.
Some of its symptoms include weight loss, cramping, and diarrhea. Another type is jejunoileitis. With this type, fistulas may form in the affected area of the jejunum. This type also has diarrhea and cramping as symptoms ("Crohn's Disease," 2011). Gastroduodenal Crohn's disease occurs in the duodenum and the stomach.
Blood tests check for anemia and signs of infection while stool samples check for white blood cells which can indicate UC and can also rule out other disorders. A colonoscopy allows the doctor to view the entire colon and the doctor can also take small tissue samples that can provide a diagnosis. A flexible sigmoidoscopy is similar to a colonoscopy except it is just used to examine the rectum and sigmoid which can be used when your colon is severely inflamed. An x-ray is used when there are severe symptoms and is used to check for things such as a perforated colon while a CT scan can show inflammation and can reveal how much of the intestines are inflamed. Ulcerative Colitis isn’t an easy disease to live with.
Crohn’s also causes small sores or ulcers on the surface of the intestines that eventually penetrate into the intestinal walls. Reduced appetite is due to the abdominal pain and cramping and weight loss is contributed to the inability to digest and absorb
Digestive tract: symptoms are abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. For the heart the symptom are abnormal heart rhythms, Symptoms for the lungs are coughing up blood and difficulty breathing. Skin symptoms include patchy skin color, the skin around the fingers changes color when cold, and for patients that only have skin symptoms its called Discoid
Treatment has two goals: to treat acute flare ups and to maintain remission (Ruthruff, 2007). Two common antibiotics used to treat Crohn’s Disease is Ciprofloxacin and Metronidazole (Ruthruff, 2007). The use of antibiotics can cause stomach upset or diarrhea with long time use. A barium enema, colonoscopy, CT scan, endoscopy, MRI, sigmoidoscopy, enteroscopy, upper GI series, blood test or stool culture can diagnose Crohn’s Disease. As with any procedure there are risks.
Common symptoms are acral necrosis of the extremities (such as the toes, fingers, lips and tip of the nose), high fever, nausea, vomiting, and breathing difficulty. Left untreated, Yersinia pestis can multiply rapidly in the bloodstream, possibly causing septicemic plague or even creep towards the lungs causing pneumonic plague. In order to diagnose bubonic plague, testing in the laboratory is required. Identification of the bacterium Yersinia pestis culture in a sample of serum from a patient’s blood is used for confirmation of the