What Is Crohn’s And Ulcerative Colitis

Layers Of The Bowel Wall

The walls of your bowel have layers. The inner layers take in nutrients from food. The outer layers help move food through the gut and waste out of the body.

In Colitis, theres inflammation and swelling of the inner layer of the bowel wall. This can cause bleeding. More mucus may be produced by the inner layer of the bowel wall. Ulcers develop on the inner layer as the condition gets worse, but they can also go as the condition gets better.

The inflammation in Colitis affects how your body digests food, absorbs nutrients and gets rid of waste.

Andy

Living with Colitis

How Are Ulcerative Colitis And Crohns Disease Different

Ulcerative colitis symptoms reside in the large intestine only and often vary from person to person, depending largely on the part of the colon thats affected and the severity of the inflammation. It affects everyone differently, and symptoms range in severity. UC is a progressive disease and will change over time in your body.

Ongoing inflammation of the GI tract happens with both Crohns and UC, but there are a few key distinctions, such as:

• With Crohns disease, there are healthy parts of the intestine mixed between inflamed areas. Ulcerative colitis includes continuous inflammation of the colon.
• Ulcerative colitis only affects the innermost lining of the colon while Crohns disease can occur in all the layers of the bowel walls.

In approximately 10% of cases, an inflammatory bowel disease will exhibit features of both Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis. We typically refer to these as indeterminate colitis.

Again, symptoms for both conditions can vary greatly from person to person, so its important to have an honest conversation with a doctor who specializes in this area, such as the ones at Alabama Colon & Rectal Institute.

Involvement Of The Small Intestine Or The Upper Gastrointestinal Tract

Patients with extensive small-bowel involvement with a moderate or severe course should be treated with systemic corticosteroids . In parallel, remission maintenance therapy with azathioprine/6-mercaptopurine should be started in case of failure or intolerance, methotrexate can be used instead . The use of infliximab should be considered in cases of nonresponse to treatment . If the upper GI tract is affected, a proton pump blocker such as esomeprazole should also be given . If the esophagus is affected, systemic glucocorticoids are the first line treatment .

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In My Shoes: 24 Hours With Crohns Or Colitis App

In My Shoes is an immersive experience that allows anyone to find out first-hand what its like to have Colitis.

From low energy levels to managing pain, from rushing to the toilet to juggling work and a social life, the app will allow friends, family and anyone you want, to see first-hand how the condition can affect every part of your body, and every aspect of your life.

We have information for friends and family, employers, and colleagues. Find all our information online.

We have around 50 Local Networks across the UK that bring local people affected by Crohns and Colitis together. They are run by volunteers and host a range of events, from educational talks to socials. Check our website or call our Helpline to find your nearest Local Network.

How Can I Tell If I Have Ulcerative Colitis Or Crohns Disease

Its important that you, your healthcare provider, and a GI specialist work together closely to figure out whats causing your symptoms. This is especially important since the symptoms of Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis can be similar. Your providers may check blood work and a stool sample. To get an accurate diagnosis, your GI specialist may do a colonoscopy, where a camera is pushed into the colon. Your provider will look at the inside of the colon and take tissue samples, which are important for making the right diagnosis. Your providers might get a CT scan or an MRI of your abdomen to check for complications related to your condition.

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How Effective Is It

A large clinical trial looked at how well upadacitinib works in adults with moderately or severely active Ulcerative Colitis. The trial compared upadacitinib to dummy treatment . The trial found:

• After 8 weeks of treatment, 30 in every 100 people who had upadacitinib were in remission. Only 4 in every 100 people who had placebo were in remission.
• In this trial, people who responded to 8 weeks of upadacitinib either carried on taking it or switched to placebo. After 52 more weeks of treatment, 47 in every 100 people who carried on taking upadacitinib were in remission. This compared to 12 in every 100 people who switched to placebo.
• The rate of serious side effects was lower in people taking upadacitinib than in people taking placebo.

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Overview Of Crohns Disease

Crohns disease is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract. Understanding Crohns disease can help you and your loved ones navigate the uncertainty that comes with a new diagnosis.

Calling all Crohns patients! Have you or a loved one been recently diagnosed? Or were you diagnosed with Crohns disease years ago but still dont fully understand your disease? Check out our latest video chat to learn more.

Video Length00:32:16

Video Chat: Crohns Disease 101

Crohns disease belongs to a group of conditions known as inflammatory bowel diseases, or IBD. It is named after Dr. Burrill B. Crohn, who first described the disease in 1932 along with his colleagues, Dr. Leon Ginzburg and Dr. Gordon D. Oppenheimer.

Video Length00:07:09

Crohns 101 Overview This introductory video provides information on potential causes, symptoms, treatment and overall management of Crohns disease.

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Crohns Disease Vs Ulcerative Colitis: Differences And Similarities

Ulcerative colitis and Crohns disease are both forms of inflammatory bowel disease. In both conditions, a persons intestinal tract regularly becomes inflamed.

These bouts of inflammation occur as a result of the bodys immune system reacting inappropriately to the bacteria that live in a persons gut.

However, there are some key differences involving where and how Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis affect a persons bowels.

This article looks at the key differences between ulcerative colitis and Crohns disease. It details their symptoms, describes the diagnostic criteria and treatment options, and considers the outlook for people with these conditions.

As one 2020 review explains, the main differences between ulcerative colitis and Crohns disease concern how they affect a persons bowels and which parts of the bowels they affect.

Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation of the colonic mucosa, the innermost part of a persons intestinal tract. By contrast, Crohns disease can affect any portion of the intestinal tract, including, but not limited to, the colonic mucosa.

Crohns disease typically affects a persons colon, or large intestine, as well as their terminal ileum. The terminal ileum is the part of the intestinal tract where the small and large intestines meet.

Doctors can classify ulcerative colitis in different ways, depending on which bowel parts the condition affects:

Ulcerative Colitis Vs Crohns Disease

Ulcerative colitis and Crohns disease share similar symptoms and they are both types of inflammatory bowel disease , but they are not the same illness and they affect different areas of the GI tract.

• Can affect the entire thickness of the bowel wall

• Only the colon and rectum are affected
• Affects the inner-most lining of the large intestine

• What is Ulcerative Colitis?

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Complications Caused By Nutritional Deficiencies

Some of the complications of malnutrition include:

• Dehydration diarrhoea causes your body to lose fluid, which can lead to dehydration. Severe dehydration can damage your kidneys.
• Anaemia reduced iron in the diet combined with losing blood from the bowel can lead to anaemia .
• Weight loss reduced appetite and poor absorption of food nutrients can cause weight loss.
• Reduced growth inadequate nutrition during childhood and adolescence can impair a childs growth and physical development.

Ulcerative Colitis Vs Crohn’s Disease: What’s The Difference

Shadi Hamdeh, MD, is a board-certified gastroenterologist and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

The two primary forms of inflammatory bowel disease Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitisare often lumped together. Both include symptoms of abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, and an urgent need to defecate. However, some of their characteristics are very different.

This article discusses the similarities and differences between ulcerative colitis versus Crohn’s disease, including symptoms and treatments of both.

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Neoplastic Complications And Screening

Patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohns ileocolitis have an elevated risk of developing colon cancer, while patients with Crohns disease and enteritis have an elevated risk of developing small-bowel cancer . Screening colonoscopy should be performed for the first time 8 to 10 years after the onset of the illness . Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis have an even higher risk of carcinoma and should undergo annual screening colonoscopy as soon as the diagnoses of chronic inflammatory bowel disease and PSC are established .

Mild And Moderate Crohns Disease Restricted To The Ileum And Cecum

In mild Crohns disease restricted to the ileum and cecum, induction therapy with budesonide can be started . Budesonide interferes with bone metabolism less than conventional steroids. Its protracted use, however, impairs the hypothalamic-pituitary regulation of glucocorticoid metabolism. This and the fact that budesonide was found to be unable to sustain remission for more than 6 months in controlled studies limit its utility to the induction of remission.

Most of the studies of mesalazine that have been performed with adequate scientific methodology have shown this agent to be ineffective for the induction of remissions . Because some controversy on this topic remains, the ECCO Consensus formulated a statement that it possesses “limited effectiveness” . The author and many other expert colleagues around the world no longer use mesalazine to treat Crohns disease.

Moderate and severe cases of Crohns disease can also be treated with systemic corticosteroids, given either by mouth or by the intravenous route . In parallel, remission maintenance therapy with azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine should be begun . These drugs have a long latency of effect and thus cannot be used to induce a remission in the acute phase. When the treatments mentioned fail or are contraindicated, infliximab or adalimumab can also be used .

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Treatment Options For Crohn’s And Colitis

Our team of experts offers broad-based knowledge in every area of IBD treatment, including innovative immune-suppressing drug therapy. And, we can offer patients treatment options only available in large centers such as ours.

The type of treatment varies from patient to patient. We determine treatment based on symptoms, severity and other characteristics of the disease and then customize to fit your individual needs. IBD treatments include:

What Is Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis affects just the large intestine and rectum. Thats where inflammation and ulcers develop. The inflammation prevents water from being reabsorbed into the bloodstream. The result is diarrhea.

If you have ulcerative colitis, you may have:

• Stomach pain and cramping
• Urgent need to go to the bathroom

Inflammation and ulceration cause bleeding, which is why there is often blood mixed in with the diarrhea. You also may experience nausea, fatigue, weight loss, and loss of appetite. As with Crohns disease, symptoms varylargely depending on the part of the large intestine that is involved. Unlike Crohns disease, which has clear sections of the colon , ulcerative colitis moves in a continuous way along the colonwith no skipped areas.

Ulcerative colitis that involves only the rectum is called proctitis. If the disease affects the left side of the colon, it is referred to as leftsided colitis. If it involves the entire colon, it is called pancolitis.

Some people with IBD have painful inflammation in other areas of the body, including:

• joints of the fingers, hands, feet, ankles and knees
• joints of the spine, including vertebrae and sacroiliac joints

Two specific skin problems that can occur as a result of IBD are:

• pyoderma gangrenosum small, sunken ulcers on the skin
• erythema nodosum painful, small, reddened nodules on the skin .

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Dietary Supplements And Botanicals

Omega-3 fatty acids have not been shown to work in most studies and have had marginal benefit in others. While they have known anti-inflammatory properties in vitro and in vivo, they have not shown a clinical benefit in IBD. That said, they are often one of the most common supplements taken by those with IBD.

Curcumin, a component of turmeric, has well-characterized anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. It has been shown to objectively reduce measures of inflammation, increases response rate to treatment in those with mild to moderate UC by 50%, and it increases remission rates by 15%. The dose is 500-1,500 mg twice per day with meals. Curcumin has often been used in trials along with pharmaceuticals, so the current best evidence supports using it as an adjuvant therapy.

Aloe vera gel is the mucilaginous aqueous extract of the aloe leaf. It is the most popular botanical used by those with IBD. One small but high-quality study supports its use in improving UC remission. For UC, use 100 mL of a 50% solution twice daily. Be careful not to recommend aloe latex, as this acts as a laxative and can worsen diarrhea.

Wheatgrass juice is better than placebo in inducing a clinical response for active distal UC in 23 patients over 4 weeks. The amount used is 20 mL orally per day initially. This is increased by 20 mL per day to 100 mL total.

Symptoms Associated With Ulcerative Colitis

During a UC flare up, the individual experiences continuous inflammation within the inner lining of the colon and rectum. This inflammation leads to the development of ulcers on the surface of the lining. These ulcers usually produce blood and mucus.

Inflammation typically starts in the lower section of the colon, including the rectum.

With ulcerative colitis, there are no healthy patches between the inflamed sections of colon.

Individuals with ulcerative colitis tend to experience pain in their lower abdominal area.

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What Other Problems Can Crohn’s Disease Cause

Crohn’s disease can cause other problems, including:

• Intestinal obstruction, a blockage in the intestine
• Fistulas, abnormal connections between two parts inside of the body
• Abscesses, pus-filled pockets of infection
• Malnutrition, when your body does not get the right amount of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients it needs
• Inflammation in other areas of your body, such as your joints, eyes, and skin

Crohns Disease And Ulcerative Colitis And Diet

Diet and food allergies do not cause IBD, and long-term special diets are not effective in treating IBD. However, adjusting your diet can help manage some of your symptoms, and can help IBD medications work better. A person with IBD has to pay close attention to their diet, since they may have malnutrition.

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About Harvard Medical School Guides

Harvard Medical School Guides delivers compact, practical information on important health concerns. These publications are smaller in scope than our Special Health Reports, but they are written in the same clear, easy-to-understand language, and they provide the authoritative health advice you expect from Harvard Health Publishing.

Crohns Disease And Ulcerative Colitis And Digesting Food

Your mouth and stomach break down food by mechanical and chemical means. When the food has reached a pulp-like consistency, it is slowly released into the first part of the small intestine . The food is then massaged along the length of the small intestine. Organs like the pancreas and the gall bladder make digestive enzymes to further break down the food into its simpler components.

• Crohns disease an inflamed ileum impairs absorption of vitamin B12 and bile salts. Inflammation along the length of the small intestine impairs absorption of all food nutrients. Inflammation of the large bowel impairs water absorption, causing diarrhoea.
• Ulcerative colitis digestion and absorption are generally not affected. Inflammation of the large bowel impairs water absorption, causing diarrhoea.

Other factors that may affect your nutritional status include:

• Medication some medication used to treat IBD may lessen your appetite and interfere with the absorption of certain nutrients, such as folic acid.
• Inflammation your body needs greater amounts of nutrients in order to cope with inflammation and fever.
• Surgery some people with IBD need surgery to remove parts of their small intestine. This lessens nutrient absorption.

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