Crohn's disease is called chronicspecific inflammation of the intestine, more often - areas of the small intestine before its transition to the colon. This is one of the most terrible diseases, which is often quite difficult to diagnose; it is characterized by the inflammatory process of the intestinal wall, which causes ulcers, fistulas, perforations and internal bleeding.
Causes of Crohn's Disease
There is still no definite reason to findsucceeded. It is believed that such a defeat of the intestine may occur due to infection with a core-like virus (the role of other viruses and bacteria, for example, pseudotuberculosis mycobacteria, is also not excluded); the appearance of an abnormal immune response in response to a food or some other antigen. Perhaps some of the proteins that make up the intestinal wall cause an abnormal reaction of the defense system, as a result, the antibodies recognize their own intestines as a foreign body and begin to attack it.
What are the symptoms of Crohn's disease?
The disease is more common in children and young people. "Favorite" his age - from 12 to 30 years.
Three main symptoms of this disease are described: abdominal pain, diarrhea and weight loss. But with Crohn's disease, these symptoms have several distinctive features.
- Diarrhea (diarrhea) may look different inwhichever parts of the intestines are affected. So, it can be a plentiful stool, containing remnants of undigested food, which is poorly washed from the toilet bowl, and it may be more dense feces, with an admixture of blood and mucus. But, unlike other diseases, it is not a permanent symptom. The act of defecation may be accompanied by pain, but there is no painful urge to empty the bowel.
Main symptoms of Crohn's disease - pain inabdomen with localization usually in the lower abdomen and on the right, resembling signs of appendicitis. Pain can be located in the area around the navel, and left lower abdomen. Constrictions, they increase, usually after eating, weakened after a bowel movement. If such pain was first noted, and then it became constant, and the temperature rose, this may mean that an abscess is formed at the site of inflammation of the intestine.- Body temperature rises, usually to low numbers.
- Weakness, fatigue.
- Loss of appetite until its complete disappearance.
- Weight loss to catastrophic numbers, due to the fact that due to the defeat of the intestine does not occur the absorption of nutrients.
- Sometimes the first evidence of Crohn's disease -symptoms from the rectum and anus: there may be cracks, fistulas, inflammations. This is due to the fact that poorly digested food is an irritant for this area.
- If Crohn's disease appeared in childhoodage, such a child is lagging behind in both physical and sexual development. Moreover, this may be the only symptom: the baby’s stomach does not necessarily hurt, there is almost no diarrhea, or it is periodic and not very pronounced.
- The acute form of Crohn's disease is very similar to acute appendicitis, which is why such patients are operated on, and this diagnosis is made only intraoperatively.
- Есть и такая форма болезни – стенозирующая.At the same time, abdominal pain is not constant, it can be localized every time in different places, sometimes there is an increase in body temperature, which is difficult to find the cause. Occasionally there are pains in different joints. After some time, it becomes noticeable that the child is lagging behind in physical development, besides, he begins to complain of abdominal pain, often to the right and bottom, which are accompanied by rumbling, bloating, gas and stool retention.
The primary chronic course is characterized by periodically arising diarrhea, a person becomes pale, edematous, if it is a child, then it is lagging behind in development.
If you think you have Crohn's disease, the diagnosis should confirm the symptoms. Such events are usually held:
1. X-ray examination:
a) irrigoscopy, when radiopaque barium is injected through the rectum;
b) research when a person drinks barium.
2Endoscopic examination, when a small-diameter fiber-optic probe is inserted into the intestine, and an image of the intestinal walls is seen on the monitor. During such a study, a biopsy of the suspicious areas is taken.
How is Crohn's disease determined? Symptoms, photo endoscopic picture of the intestine - the fundamental criteria on the basis of which the diagnosis is established.
