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Crohn's Disease

Home > Illnesses and Disabilities Home > Types of Illnesses & Disabilities > Crohn's Disease

Crohn's disease is a disorder that causes inflammation (swelling and pain) in your digestive tract. The digestive tract is the long passageway from your mouth to your anus that absorbs nutrients from food and gets rid of waste. Crohn's disease most often affects the lower part of the small intestine, but it can affect any part of your digestive tract. Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease. This is the general name for diseases that cause swelling in your intestines.

The most common symptoms of Crohn's disease are:

• pain in your belly, often in the lower right area
• diarrhea

Other symptoms can include:

• blood in your feces
• weight loss
• joint pain
• skin rashes
• fever
• stunted growth and delayed development (in children with Crohn's disease)

There is no cure for Crohn's disease, but treatments can help control the disease. Treatments include:

• medicines to control inflammation and diarrhea and fight infection
• surgery to remove diseased parts of your intestine

Additional Resources

Publications

1.   Colostomy Interactive Tutorial - This interactive tutorial guides the user through an audio-visual presentation on colostomy.

   http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/colostomy.html

2.   Crohn's Disease - This fact sheet presents the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, complications, and treatment of Crohn's Disease. It also contains information about diet, pregnancy, the research that is being done and whom to contact for more information on this disease.

   http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/crohns/index.htm

3.   Frequently Asked Questions - Autoimmune Diseases: Overview - This fact sheet answers common questions about autoimmune diseases, including what they are, and what causes them, and how they can be diagnosed and treated.

   http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/autoimmune.htm

4.   Frequently Asked Questions - Inflammatory Bowel Disease - This publication explains the causes, symptoms, complications and treatment options for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Crohn's disease.

   http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/ibd.htm

5.   Ileostomy, Colostomy, and Ileoanal Reservoir Surgery - When the intestines are removed, the body needs a new way for stool to leave the body, so an opening is created in the abdomen for stool to pass through. This surgery is called ostomy. The opening is called a stoma. This fact sheet discusses this surgery.

   http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/ileostomy/index.htm

6. Crohn's Disease Interactive Tutorial (Copyright © PEI) - This interactive tutorial guides the user through an audio-visual on Crohn's Disease.

   http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/crohnsdiseas.html

Organizations

1.   National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, NIDDK, NIH, HHS
2. American College of Gastroenterology
3. American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
4. Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, Inc.

= Indicates Federal Resources

Content last updated May 15, 2008.