According to an estimate, around 2 million people in the US suffer from different types of Crohn’s Disease as well as ulcerative colitis which is a sister disease. It has been named after the physicist who first discovered it.

It is an inflammatory disease related to digestive system. This disease causes ulcerative colitis in small and large intestine however, it might also produce some effects in any part of the body and these effects can be found anywhere between the mouth and anus.

The two of these conditions are collectively referred to as Inflammatory Bower Diseases (IBD). They have two stages in which they become activated and deactivated. They usually occur at early age of adulthood however this isn’t a fixed time when they can occur. Some of the common symptoms that are faced include weight loss, frequent diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

There are also other less frequent symptoms which include rectal pain as well as bleeding but as mentioned earlier, they are just temporary and are only faced by a few people and are less frequent. Some other problems that one might face are loss of appetite and night sweats.

In the early stages, the disease has been reported to cause small erosions which appear on inner surface of bowel and are called aphtous ulcers. They keep growing and become true ulcers as they continue to grow and then cause scarring and stiffness of the bowel.


The bowel can then become obstructed and scarring can narrow which causes further and deep ulcers resulting in perforation of the bowel wall. Such issues can cause release of gut bacteria in to body where other organs of the body are infected and the body cavity can occur.

Bowel ulcers, in such condition might also tunnel in to another organ which causes the bladder, skin, vagina and anus to be included in to it. The channel between intestine and organ can be caused when bowel ulcer turns in to another organ.

These problems can include skin, vagina as well as anus. These are known as fistulas and are one of the most complicated problems one might face. Crohn’s Disease can also cause complications that aren’t in any way related to the intestine. Other areas which can be affected include lower back, eyes, joints, spine, liver as well as legs. Other symptoms of the disease include bowel blockage, colon distension and effect on other areas which include lower portion of the back.

Diagnosis of the disease is quite difficult due to its similar nature compared to other types of abdominal diseases. The diagnosis is mostly carried with the help of Barium X-Ray. Other methods of diagnosis are also available which include CT scanning as well as video capsule.

The cure for Crohn’s disease is unlikely not available so the treatment is targeted to induce and maintain periods of the disease where the intensity is kept controlled and as minimum as possible. The target is to reduce intensity and side effects of medicine and at the same time to reduce intensity of disease to increase patients’ quality of life.