It isn’t clear what causes Crohn’s disease. However, the following factors may influence your chances of developing it:

• your immune system
• your genes
• your environment

Up to 20 percent of people with Crohn’s disease also have a parent, child, or sibling with the disease, according to the CCFA.

According to a 2012 study, certain factors can affect the severity of your symptoms. These include:

• whether you smoke
• your age
• whether or not the rectum is involved
• length of time you’ve had the disease

People with Crohn’s are also more likely to develop intestinal infections from bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. This can affect the severity of symptoms and create complications.

Crohn’s disease and its treatments can also affect the immune system, making these types of infections worse.

Yeast infections are common in Crohn’s and can affect both the lungs and the intestinal tract. It’s important that these infections are diagnosed and properly treated with antifungal medications to prevent further complications.

No single test result is enough for your doctor to diagnose Crohn’s disease. They will begin by eliminating other possible causes of your symptoms.

Your doctor may use several types of tests to make a diagnosis:

• Blood tests can help your doctor look for certain indicators of potential problems, such as anemia and inflammation.
• A stool test can help your doctor detect blood in your GI tract.
• Your doctor may request an endoscopy to get a better image of the inside of your upper gastrointestinal tract.
• Your doctor may request a colonoscopy to examine the large bowel.
• Imaging tests like CT scans and MRI scans give your doctor more detail than an average X-ray. Both tests allow your doctor to see specific areas of your tissues and organs.
• Your doctor will likely have a tissue sample, or biopsy, taken during an endoscopy or colonoscopy for a closer look at your intestinal tract tissue.

Once your doctor has completed reviewing all the necessary tests and ruled out other possible reasons for your symptoms, they may conclude that you have Crohn’s disease.

Your doctor may go on to request these tests several more times to look for affected tissue and determine how the disease is progressing.

A cure for Crohn’s disease isn’t available yet, but the disease can be managed. A variety of treatment options exist that can lessen the severity and frequency of your symptoms.

Medications

Several types of medications are available to treat Crohn’s. Antidiarrheal and anti-inflammatory drugs are commonly used. More advanced options include biologics, which use the body’s immune system to treat the disease.

The medications, or combination of medications, you need depend on your symptoms, your disease history, the severity of your condition, and how you respond to treatment.

Anti-inflammatory drugs

The two main types of anti-inflammatory drugs doctors use to treat Crohn’s are oral 5-aminosalicylates and corticosteroids. Anti-inflammatory drugs are often the first drugs you take for Crohn’s disease treatment.

You typically take these drugs when you have mild symptoms with infrequent disease flares. Corticosteroids are used for more severe symptoms but should only be taken for a short time.

Immunomodulators

An overactive immune system causes the inflammation that leads to the symptoms of Crohn’s disease. Drugs that affect the immune system, called immunomodulators, may reduce the inflammatory response and limit your immune system’s reaction.

Antibiotics

Some doctors believe antibiotics may help reduce some of the symptoms of Crohn’s and some of the possible triggers for it.

For example, antibiotics can reduce drainage and heal fistulas, which are abnormal connections between tissues that Crohn’s can cause.

Biologic therapies

If you have severe Crohn’s, your doctor may try one of a number of biologic therapies to treat the inflammation and complications that can occur from the disease. Biologic drugs can block specific proteins that may trigger inflammation.

Surgery

If less invasive treatments and lifestyle changes don’t improve your symptoms, surgery may be necessary. Ultimately, about 75 percent of people with Crohn’s disease will require surgery at some point in their lives, according to the CCFA.

Some types of surgery for Crohn’s include removing damaged portions of your digestive tract and reconnecting the healthy sections. Other procedures repair damaged tissue, manage scar tissue, or treat deep infections.

Diet

Food doesn’t cause Crohn’s disease, but it can trigger flares.

After a Crohn’s diagnosis, your doctor will likely suggest making an appointment with a registered dietitian (RD). An RD will help you understand how food may affect your symptoms and how your diet may help you.

In the beginning, they may ask you to keep a food diary. This food diary will detail what you ate and how it made you feel.

Using this information, the RD will help you create an eating plan. These dietary changes should help you absorb more nutrients from the food you eat while also limiting any negative side effects food may be causing.

A diet plan that works for one person with Crohn’s disease may not work for another. This is because the disease can involve different areas of the GI tract in different people.

It’s important to find out what works best for you. This can be done by keeping track of your symptoms as you add or remove certain foods from your diet. Lifestyle and diet changes may help you reduce the recurrence of symptoms and lessen their severity.

Adjust fiber intake

Some people need a high fiber, high protein diet. For others, the presence of extra food residue from high fiber foods such as fruits and vegetables may aggravate the GI tract. If this is the case, you may need to switch to a low residue diet.

Research on this particular diet has been mixed, so speak with your doctor about your personal needs.

Limit fat intake

Crohn’s disease may interfere with your body’s ability to break down and absorb fat. This excess fat will pass from your small intestine to your colon, which can cause diarrhea.

However, a 2017 study on mice suggested that a diet higher in plant-based fats had the potential to change the gut microbiome in positive ways for Crohn’s disease. More research is needed and your doctor or an RD can help guide you in your fat intake.

Limit dairy intake

Previously, you may not have experienced lactose intolerance, but your body can develop difficulty digesting some dairy products when you have Crohn’s disease. Consuming dairy can lead to an upset stomach, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea for some people.

Drink enough water

Crohn’s disease may affect your body’s ability to absorb water from your digestive tract. This can lead to dehydration. The risk of dehydration is especially high if you’re having diarrhea or bleeding.

Consider alternative sources of vitamins and minerals

Crohn’s disease can affect your intestines’ ability to properly absorb other nutrients from your food. Eating nutrient-dense foods may not be enough. Talk with your doctor about taking multivitamins to find out if this is right for you.

Work with your doctor to figure out what best suits your needs. They may refer you to an RD or nutritionist. Together, you can identify your dietary plan and create guidelines for a balanced diet.

Some people use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to help manage symptoms of various conditions and diseases, including Crohn’s disease.

The Food and Drug Administration hasn’t approved these for treatment, but some people use them in addition to mainstream medications.

Don’t add any new treatments to your current treatment plan without consulting your doctor.

Some CAM treatments for Crohn’s disease include:

• Probiotics. These are live bacteria that can help you replace and rebuild the good bacteria in your intestinal tract. Probiotics may also help prevent microorganisms from upsetting your gut’s natural balance and causing a Crohn’s flare. Scientific data about effectiveness is limited.
• Prebiotics. These are potentially beneficial materials found in plants, such as asparagus, bananas, artichokes, and leeks, that help feed the good bacteria in your gut and increase their numbers.
• Fish oil. Fish oil is rich in omega-3s. According to a 2017 study, research is ongoing regarding its possible treatment of Crohn’s disease. Oily fish like salmon and mackerel are rich in omega-3s. You can find fish oil supplements online.
• Supplements. Many people believe certain herbs, vitamins, and minerals ease the symptoms of a variety of diseases, including inflammation associated with Crohn’s disease. Research is ongoing as to which supplements may be beneficial.
• Aloe vera. Some believe that the aloe vera plant has anti-inflammatory properties. Because inflammation is one of the key components of Crohn’s disease, people may use it as a natural anti-inflammatory. However, there is no current research that suggests aloe vera helps with Crohn’s.
• Acupuncture. This is the practice of strategically sticking needles in the skin to stimulate various points on the body. A 2014 study found that acupuncture, combined with moxibustion — a type of traditional Chinese medicine that involves burning dried medicinal herbs on or near your skin — improves symptoms of Crohn’s disease. More research is needed.

Tell your doctor if you use any CAM treatments or over-the-counter medications. Some of these substances can affect the efficiency of medications or other treatments. In some cases, an interaction or side effect could be dangerous, or even life threatening.

Surgery for Crohn’s disease is considered a last-resort treatment, but three-quarters of people with Crohn’s will ultimately need some type of surgery to relieve symptoms or complications.

Once medications are no longer working or side effects have become too severe to treat, your doctor may consider one of the following surgeries.

• Strictureplasty widens and shortens the intestines in an attempt to reduce the effects of scarring or damage to the tissue.
• During a bowel resection, portions of damaged intestine are removed. Healthy intestine is stitched together to reform the intestines.
• An ostomy creates a hole through which your body can eliminate waste. These are usually performed when a portion of the small or large bowel is removed. They can be permanent or temporary when your doctor wants to give your intestines time to heal.
• A colectomy removes sections of the colon that are diseased or damaged.
• A proctocolectomy is surgery to remove the colon and rectum. If you have this surgery, you will also need a colostomy (a hole in the large intestine for emptying waste).

Crohn’s disease surgery is helpful for relieving symptoms, but it’s not without risk. Talk with your doctor about any concerns you may have with surgery.

There are six variations of Crohn’s disease, all based on location in the digestive system. They are:

• Gastroduodenal Crohn’s disease. This uncommon condition mainly affects your stomach and the duodenum, which is the first part of your small intestine.
• Jejunoileitis. This type occurs in the second portion of your intestine, called the jejunum. Like gastroduodenal Crohn’s, this variation is less common.
• Ileitis. Ileitis involves inflammation in the last part of the small intestine, or ileum.
• Ileocolitis. This affects the ileum and the colon and is the most common variation of Crohn’s.
• Crohn’s colitis. This affects the colon only. Both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s colitis impact the colon only, but Crohn’s colitis can affect deeper layers of the intestinal lining.
• Perianal disease. This often involves fistulas, or abnormal connections between tissues, deep tissue infections, as well as sores and ulcers on the outer skin around the anus.

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC) are two types of IBD. They have many of the same characteristics. You may even mistake them for one another.

They have the following characteristics in common:

• The first signs and symptoms of both Crohn’s disease and UC are very similar. These can include diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramping, rectal bleeding, weight loss, and fatigue.
• Both UC and Crohn’s disease occur more commonly in people ages 15 to 35 and people with a family history of either type of IBD.
• In general, IBD tends to affect all sexes equally, but this can vary depending on age.
• Despite decades of research, scientists still don’t know what causes either disease. In both cases, an overactive immune system is a likely culprit, but other factors likely play a role.

Here’s how they differ:

• UC only affects the colon. Crohn’s disease can affect any part of your GI tract, from the mouth to the anus.
• UC only affects the outermost layer of tissue lining your colon called the mucosa. Crohn’s disease can affect all the layers of your intestinal tissue from superficial to deep.

According to 2016 data:

• Crohn’s disease occurs about as frequently in men as in women.
• Two out of three individuals with Crohn’s disease will receive a diagnosis before the age of 40.

Crohn’s disease and disability

Crohn’s disease can disrupt your work and personal life. It can also cause financial stress. If you don’t have health insurance (and sometimes even if you do), your out-of-pocket expenses can total several thousand dollars per year.

If the disease becomes severe enough that it’s affecting your daily life in a significant way, consider filing for disability.

If you can prove that your condition prevents you from working or has prevented you from working for the last year, you may be eligible to receive disability income. Social Security Disability Insurance or Social Security Income can provide this type of assistance.

Unfortunately, applying for disability can be a long and tedious process. It requires lots of appointments with your doctors. You may have to pay for multiple doctors’ visits if you don’t have insurance. You’ll need to take time off of work if you’re currently employed.

Crohn’s disease in children

Most people with Crohn’s disease receive a diagnosis in their 20s and 30s, but IBD can develop in children, too. Approximately 1 in 4 people with an IBD show symptoms before age 20, according to a 2016 review.

Crohn’s disease that only involves the colon is common in children and adolescents. That means distinguishing between Crohn’s and UC is difficult until the child begins showing other symptoms.

Proper treatment for Crohn’s disease in children is important because untreated Crohn’s can lead to growth delays and weakened bones. It may also cause significant emotional distress at this stage in life. Treatments include:

• antibiotics
• aminosalicylates
• biologics
• immunomodulators
• steroids
• nutrition plansa

Crohn’s medications can have some significant side effects on children. It’s vital you work closely with your child’s doctor to find the right options.

Research is still ongoing to find more effective treatments and potentially an eventual cure for Crohn’s disease. But symptoms can be successfully managed and remission is possible.

Your doctor can help guide you in finding the right medications, alternative treatments, and lifestyle measures that can help.

If you’re having gastrointestinal symptoms, speak with your doctor to determine the cause and potential solutions.