Crohns Disease
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Treatment
Effective medical and surgical treatment is available for Crohn’s disease. It is particularly important to maintain good nutrition with a balanced diet, get adequate exercise, consume adequate vitamins and minerals, especially calcium and vitamin D, and keep a positive, upbeat attitude. Click Crohn’s Dietary Therapy for details. Five types of medications are available to treat this disease.- Cortisone or steroids (prednisone) – These powerful drugs can provide highly effective results. A large dose is often used initially to bring severe disease under quick control. The drug is then tapered to a low maintenance dose, perhaps taken just every other day. Hopefully, the drug may eventually be stopped altogether. Unfortunately, steroids promote calcium loss from bone. This is a major problem for Crohn’s patients. So, early detection and preventative therapy is imperative.
- Anti-inflammation drugs – Sulfasalazine, (Azulfidine, Dipentum, Asacol, Rowasa, Pentasa and Lialda) belong to a group of drugs called the 5-aminosalicylates. These drugs are most useful in maintaining a remission, once the disease is brought under control. They are most effective when the disease is present in the colon and less so for Crohn’s in the small bowel.
- Immune System Suppressors – These medications suppress the body’s immune system, which appears to be overly active and somehow aggravates the disease. The names of two of these commonly used medications are azathioprine (trade name: Imuran) and 6MP (trade name: Purinethol). These drugs are particularly useful for long-term maintenance. There are other potent immune-suppressing drugs that may be used in difficult cases.
- Biologics – These are newer and highly effective compounds that block certain stages of the inflammation. Infliximab (trade name: Remicade) and adalimumab (trade name: Humira) are two such medications.
- Antibiotics – Since there is frequently a bacterial infection along with Crohn’s disease, antibiotics are often used to treat this problem. Two that are commonly used are ciprofloxacin (trade name: Cipro) and metronidazole (trade name: Flagyl).
