Crohn’s disease is a chronic illness that’s a part of the inflammatory bowel diseases. Those who have Crohn’s disease experience inflammation in their bowel. This can cause fatigue, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
Though there’s no cure, some treatments for Crohn’s disease can reduce symptoms. Understanding what can make your condition worse allows you to make choices to keep symptoms at bay.
Avoid these six mistakes, and you may find yourself with less severe symptoms and fewer flare-ups.
Those with Crohn’s may experience vitamin deficiencies. Supplements like Vitamin D, B12, and folic acid may be helpful in maintaining your overall health.
Some supplements may make your condition worse. For example, St. John’s wort can increase symptoms like upset stomach, nausea, and vomiting. Black cohosh can cause liver problems.
Talk with your doctor before starting any new vitamins and herbs. They will be able to advise you on how supplements will interact with your other medications.
Smoking is bad for your health. Everyone knows that! But smoking can really be bad for those with Crohn’s disease. Smoking creates inflammation in the body, and it doesn’t matter if you smoke cigarettes or cigars or vape. The inflammation could cause a relapse. Smoking may result in more medications or more surgeries to control your Crohn’s.
A glass of wine after work or a cocktail with friends is your choice! However, alcohol can have a negative interaction with the medications you take.
Excess alcohol can also exacerbate your Crohn’s disease, which irritates your intestinal lining. Alcohol can aggravate it further. Inflamed intestines increase the likelihood of bleeding, malnutrition, and worsening symptoms.
Alcohol in moderation is probably not going to harm you, but each person’s system is different.
Maintaining your health is an important part of living with Crohn’s. Vaccines keep you healthy by inoculating you against disease. They stimulate your body to produce antibodies that lead to your immunity to that disease — without having to get the disease first.
Preventing infections is especially important to those with Crohn’s, and vaccines do just that. People with Crohn’s are more vulnerable to some infections like flu and pneumonia, so getting the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines are especially important.
Before getting any vaccines, you should discuss them (and their possible side effects) with your physician.
Stress and anxiety can make your symptoms worse. Good sleep hygiene can minimize the effects of stress. Exercise helps, too — get as much as your body allows. Before you start a new workout routine, you should consult your doctor.
Thinking about having a baby? Discuss it with your gastroenterologist. They can decide on the best strategy for treating your Crohn’s disease during pregnancy. Some research suggests that Crohn’s disease is more dangerous to a pregnancy than the medications used to treat it. Meet with your gastroenterologist to discuss the best way to treat your Crohn’s during pregnancy.
The most important thing for those with Crohn’s to do is to work with your gastroenterologist to ensure that you understand your treatment options — and the choices you can make to improve your symptoms. Make an appointment today.
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