Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Crohns Disease Foundation

Question:
What is Crohn's disease?

Answer:
    Crohn's disease is a serious inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It predominates in the intestine (ileum) and the large intestine (colon), but may occur in any section of the GI tract. Crohn's disease usually causes diarrhea, crampy abdominal pain, often fever, and at times rectal bleeding. Loss of appetite and subsequent weight loss also may occur. Symptoms may range from mild to severe, but in general people with Crohn's disease can lead active and productive lives. Crohn's disease is chronic. We don't know its cause. Medication currently available decreases inflammation and usually controls the symptoms, but does not provide a cure. Because Crohn's disease behaves similarly to ulcerative colitis, from which it may be difficult to differentiate, the two disorders are grouped together as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Unlike Crohn's disease, in which all layers of the intestine are involved, and in which there can be normal healthy bowel in between patches of diseased bowel, ulcerative colitis affects only the innermost lining (mucosa) of the colon in a continuous manner. Depending on where the involvement occurs, Crohn's disease may be referred to as Ileitis, regional enteritis, or colitis, etc. To lessen the confusion, the term Crohn's disease can be used to identify the disease wherever it occurs in the body (ileum, colon, rectum, anus, stomach, duodenum, etc.). It is referred to as Crohn's disease because Burrill B. Crohn was the first name in a three-author landmark paper published in 1932, which described the disease.