One autoimmune disease that is common is the Crohn’s disease
which causes inflammation in the small intestine, an inflammatory bowel disease
(cidpusa.com). This disease can affect any part of the digestive tract from the
mouth to the anus, but usually occurs in the lower part of the intestine. The
inflammation can cause pain and result in diarrhea, rectal bleeding, weight
loss, or fevers. This disease affects men and women equally.
There are a few possible treatments for Crohn’s disease;
however there is no known cure at this time. These depend on many factors,
though, including location, severity, complications present, and the response
of any previous treatment given. The most common treatments used are drugs,
nutritional supplements, surgery, or a mixture of these. It
is often difficult to tell when a treatment has helped due to the odd patterns
of this disease, sometimes hidden for years at a time, only happening a few
various times over a person’s lifetime. Drug therapy is the most common first
treatment for people with Crohn’s disease. It usually has mesalamine, a
substance that helps regulate inflammation. The side effects of this substance
could include nausea, vomiting, heartburn, diarrhea, and headaches. Nutritional
supplementation could include feeding by vein, in patients who need their
intestines to rest or whose intestines cannot absorb enough of the nutrition
from the foods. Surgery is another option to remove part of the intestine, but
this does not cure it. Surgery is used in those who do not react to the medical
or supplemental therapy and who have complications including blockage,
perforation, abscess, or bleeding within the intestine. The surgery removes a
part of the intestine, however the disease just moves to the next part of the
intestine when it reoccurs. Due to the reoccurrences, surgery should be thought
about very thoroughly before deciding to go through with this treatment.
Scientists are still in search for better treatments, and
even a cure to this disease. Although it causes many complications, people with
this disease still carry on a normal life, especially when the disease is not
active.
Resources
One autoimmune disease that is common is the Crohn’s disease
which causes inflammation in the small intestine, an inflammatory bowel disease
(cidpusa.com). This disease can affect any part of the digestive tract from the
mouth to the anus, but usually occurs in the lower part of the intestine. The
inflammation can cause pain and result in diarrhea, rectal bleeding, weight
loss, or fevers. This disease affects men and women equally.
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