It is better to get Chrones Disease in 2007 than in 1987

Affecting nearly 1 million people around the world, Chrones disease is a chronic inflammation of the bowel and intestines. People who have Chrones disease often have diarrhea and abdominal pain. About 80% of people with Chrones disease will also eventually will face some sort of surgery to remove damaged portions of bowel.

Having said all that, there is some good news, as the science finally catches up with chrones disease with modern treatments like anti-inflammatory medications called TNF blockers which have had very good results for many patients.

Two new chrones disease drugs are about to hit the market, so things could and should soon improve further for Crohn's disease patients.

In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recommended approval of the drug called Tysabri as a medication for Chrones disease. Tysabri is already used for treating patients with multiple sclerosis. This recommendation will allow the FDA to move toward approval of Tysabri for Chrones.

The second new drug is called Cimzia, which was effective at treating about one-third of 1,330 patients with moderate to severe Chrones disease in testing. As well as this, 62% of the chrones patients who responded to Cimzia continued to benefit from the treatment after 6 months. The Belgian company who is developing Cimzia is planning to receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration advisory committee soon.

So there is hopefully some good news on the horizon for Chrones Disease sufferers.

Living life with Chrones Disease

In a strange kind of way, when you are going through a very bad patch with your chrones disease and you feel that everything is against you, it sometimes helps to know that there are many people who have chrones disease and continue to live extra ordinary lives.

A great example of this is David Garrard who is a quarter back for the Jacksonville Jaguars and has Chrones disease.

I often have days when I don't even feel like getting out of bed let alone going out and playing professional football!

Recently I was invited to go camping with some friends and my first though was that I could not do it, but then I though of the people out there who have chrones disease like David Garrard, who are doing things that even people without chrones disease would find difficult. It gave me that little push that I needed....

... I did eventually go on the camping trip and I did have an excellent time, it just goes to show that you can live your life to the full even with Chrones Disease

Chrones Disease Diet

New Diet is said to help people with chrones disease and ulcerative colitis.

A new low carbohydrate diet has the potential to help people who suffer with Chrones disease and people with ulcerative colitis, the research has been carried out by Dr Richard Gearry who is a senior lecturer at Otago Universitys Christchurch School of Medicine in New Zealand.

Both Chrones disease and ulcerative colitis are forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

To ensure that the diet was low in carbohydrates, the 100 people who took part in the experiment had to reduce the amount of wheat, onions, milk, ice cream, apples, honey and stone fruits in their diet. It was also found that legumes could cause abdominal pain and diarrhoea in people who have chrones disease.

This research took place at Box Hill Hospital in Victoria in Australia and involved a hundred patients who have either chrones disease or ulcerative colitis. Patients followed the diet for six to eight weeks. The diet was also designed so that the taste was not too bad and that it was easy to follow. This was becaue they wanted as many people as possible to follow the diet for the full duration.

The results showed that some of the carbohydrates and sugars are not absorbed into the stomach and because of this they get into the colon where they ferment and produce gas which causes pain, these were presented to the Australian Gastroenterology Week conference in Perth.

The hope that it will go on to help many people who suffer with chrons disease and ulcerative colitis.

Children with Chrones Disease

The current research shows that Chrones disease is more common in children than previously thought. This also seems to be true for cases of ulcerative colitis. Most of the new diagnosed cases of Chrones disease are in children and it is becoming more and more common to find examples of chrones in children as young a 7.

The statistics show that about 20% of all cases of Chrones disease affects children under the age of 15.

With children with Chrones Disease, one of the most serious problems is that of Nutritional deficiency which can also lead to stunted growth.

The doctor of a child who has chrones disease may suggest nutritional supplements, especially for children whose growth has already been stunted or slowed.

Crohn's disease affects boys and girls equally but children who are born into a family who have a history of Chrones disease are far more likely to develop chrones than other children as there is a clear genetic link, the symptoms of chrones disease may also show at an early age.

It is also important to remember that children with chrones disease will have to face many more problems growing up than children without the disease, this includes the physical difficulties and the self image issues.

Chrones disease will change a child's normal routine and may separate them from normal child activities. So it is very important that children with chrones disease have a strong support base from family, friends, and doctors.

UK: Get Managing Your Child's Chrones Disease and Ulcerative Colitis from Amazon.co.uk

USA, Australia and Canada: Get Managing Your Child's Chrones Disease and Ulcerative Colitis from
abebooks.com

Chrones Disease Symptoms

The diagnosis of Chrones Disease is often really difficult, the disease can occur at any age but it does seem as though that adolescence and early adulthood are the times of the highest risk.

Because current research says that the only way of getting Chrones disease is genetic, the only known risks seem to be through a family history of Chrones disease.

It also seems that people who have Jewish ancestry, and smoking also seems to increase the risk of Chrones.

Chrones disease is more common than most people thing as there are about 7 people in every 100,000 who have the disease.

Here are the main Symptoms of Chrones Disease:

* Unintentional weight loss
* Abdominal mass
* Abdominal sounds - gurgling or splashing sounds
* Fatigue and tiredness
* Tenesmus which means pain with passing stool
* Fever
* Diarrhea
* Loss of appetite
* Gastrointestinal bleeding
* Stools that are Foul-smelling
* Pain in your Abdomen

Here are also some less common Symptoms of Chrones disease:

* Anal Incontinence
* Swollen gums
* Blood in your stools
* Pain in your joints
* Constipation
* Abdominal fullness and gas

For more information on chrones disease here is a link to chrones disease books:

Chrones Disease Books

Chrones Disease: Fund raiser for Chrones Disease Patients

The father and son team of Allan and Neil Farimond, aim to tackle the Pyrenees on a gruelling 13-day bike trek in aid of the National Association for Colitis and Chrones Disease. This is a charity is important to them as Neil's son Matthew has Chrones disease as well as many other members of their extended family.

68 years young Allan has actually finished the trek before and is the more experienced of the team. The aim is to raise at least £1000 (about US$1900) for the National Association for Colitis and Chrones Disease.

The fantastic news is that their total currently stands at £1,860.00

The more money they can raise, the more worthwhile the venture. A number of our family members are affected by Crohn's Disease and it is a very dehabilitating condition which can go into remission but then suddenly flare up and be very uncomfortable."

Chrones Disease is also more common than you think and yet receives far less publicity than diseases like cancer or heart disease.

For more information and to see how they are getting on with raising funds for Chrons Disease go to their website: www.justgiving.com/allanfarrimond.