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.