Ways To Manage And Prevent Crohn’s Disease

Because there being no permanent cure for Crohn’s as of now, it becomes of the utmost
importance to learn of ways to prevent Crohn’s disease from getting acute! Despite being a
chronic disease, it provides a small relief to people suffering from it, as it is not a
constant disease. Or, in other words, this disease occurs as flare-ups, active periods of
acute symptoms, in between stretches of inactivity when the person is relatively free from
the symptoms. These periods of remissions and relapses vary from person to person and also
upon the kind of lifestyle and eating habits one has. However, generally speaking, the
periods of remission are longer and more frequent than the periods of acuteness.

What is it?

Before we go into ways to prevent Crohn’s, let’s take a quick look at what exactly it is.
This disease, like ulcerative colitis, is an inflammatory bowel disease or IBD. It is a
condition of the body when the entire gastrointestinal tract, or the digestive tract,
starts showing inflammation in various areas. Inflammation normally follows some kind of
infection or injury. It is a part of the body’s response mechanism to ward off any
abnormal activity, and is hence accompanied with fever, pain, swelling and redness.
However, in IBDs, it is seen that this mechanism is either triggered at inappropriate
times or it doesn’t turn off when it should.

When the disease is acute, the symptoms include diarrhea, loss of appetite, fever, severe
abdominal pains and cramps. There is also vomiting and extreme fatigue, and mal-absorption
of nutrients in the intestine could lead to severe weight loss. Fissures and fistulas may
form and there could be rectal bleeding too. However, the exact symptoms depend upon the
location of the inflammation in the intestine. Most commonly affected parts are the ileum
and the colon, as ileitis, ileocolitis and Crohn’s colitis. But, it is also seen that with
a little bit of dietary management, a person can prevent Crohn’s disease from becoming
acute.

Diet And Nutrition – Some Helpful Tips

Since the disease involves the digestive system, one of the simplest ways to prevent
Crohn’s disease outbursts is by ensuring that the digestive tract is not subjected to any
stress. Select an eating pattern comprising of shorter meals, spaced equally at shorter
intervals or gaps. Ideal way would be to eat six half-sized meals every day. Also make
sure that the last meal is taken at least 3 hours before you sleep. Other than that, the
calorific intake should also be increased in your food, in the form of proteins, vitamins,
minerals and trace elements, to compensate for the malnutrition as a result of diarrhea
and fever.

Another very important method to prevent Crohn’s disease is by taking care of your overall
health too. Since this is more or less an autoimmune disease, triggered by body’s defense
mechanism, care should be taken to avoid viral and other infections. Besides, the immune
system can also be strengthened by using alternative treatments and mind-body approach for
holistic healing. Pranayam, hypnotherapy, guided imagery or visualizations, relaxation
techniques and prayer are some of the methods that might help. Sound/music therapy and
aromatherapy can also help in improving body’s vitality. Then there are postural therapies
and exercises like the Alexander technique, Feldenkrais method, the Trager method, tai chi
and yoga, and acupuncture and acupressure, which may be used to help prevent future
flare-ups.

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