Causes and Symptoms of Crohn's Disease

Causes of Crohn's Disease

While Crohn's Disease is often thought of as a disease of the young, about 25 per cent of new cases are diagnosed has a genetic component. People from families in which another member has Crohn's Disease or ulcerative colitis are statistically more likely to be affected. 

Symptoms of Crohn's Disease

Crohn's Disease can cause a variety of symptoms of gastrointestinal distress. The three classic symptoms are : 

Diarrhoea : In cases of Crohn's Disease, patients often experience frequent loose or watery bowel movements. The stool is occasionally accompanied by thick, dark blood ( not bright red smears of blood, which usually result from a bleeding haemorrhoid). There is less mucus or pus in the stool than in cases of ulcerative colitis. 

Pain : Patients may experience crampy sharp pain in the affected area. Most often, patients feel pain in the lower right side of the abdomen ( lower right quadrant) and just below the belly button. Disease in the terminal ileum generally causes sharp pain, while disease in the colon causes more crampy pain, similar to that of ulcerative colitis. Pain is sometimes relieved ( temporarily) after a bowel movement. 

Fever : Some patients suffer a high fever, especially during the acute phase of a flare-up. Others run a persistent low-grade fever. 

Signs and Symptoms Unrelated to the GI Tract.

These may occur at the same time as the intestinal symptoms or may be experienced weeks or even months before any intestinal symptoms are noticed. These are : 

1. Reddening and inflammation of the eye ( iritis). 
2. Joint pain (usually in the large joints of the knees, ankles, elbows, wrists, and shoulders), which sometimes migrates from one joint to another ( migrating arthralgia)
3. Skin lesions, including tender red nodules on the shins or calves ( erythema nodosum). 
4. Sores inside the mouth ( aphthous ulcers).

Introduction of Crohn's Disease
Causes and Symptoms of Crohn's Disease
Diagnosis and Complications of Crohn's Disease
Treatment for Crohn's Disease