Recently while watching I realized that you can tell quite a bit about a person by just looking at their bones. You can tell age, any kind of sports that they might have taken part in, any defects, & even if they had diseases. This made me wonder if they would be able to tell, just by looking at a set of bones, if that person had Cronh's or Ulcerative Colitis?? Does Crohn's leave any kinds of markers on the bones??
It may not leave markers but it can cause bone loss! So how & why does this happen?? One of the causes of bone loss in Crohn's patients is the use of corticosteroids such as Prednisone. Because it is such a strong treatment if taken for extended periods of time the steroid will pull potassium out of the bone causing osteoporosis. Corticosteroids can decrease the amount of potassium that is absorbed by the intestines from food. They can increase the amount of calcium that the body gets rid of during urination. They stimulate the production of a certain cell group that break down bones, as well as reduce the production of cells that build bone. They also reduce the production of Estrogen that aids in strengthening the bones.
The inflammation caused by this disease can also have an effect on the structure of a person's skeletal system. The problem here lies in the proteins known as cytokines. These tiny little proteins are what antagonize a person's inflammatory response. People who have a more aggressive case of Crohn's disease may experience more bone loss than others due to the use of more steroids to control their inflammation and symptoms.
Anybody ever hear of anemia? That can also tag along with CD as well. What is anemia you might be asking. Anemia is simply when your blood does not have enough red blood cells in it. I have personally had red counts so low that I was about .1 points away from having to go to the hospital & have a blood transfusion. Scary stuff right?! Kind of yeah, but totally manageable that's the good thing about it!!
Raise your hand if you have ever had a kidney stone. Almost everyone I talk to seems to think that kidney stones are for "old people". They totally aren't! I've had my fare share & I'm 19! Because CD patients can become severely dehydrated due to excessive bathroom trips & not being able to keep food or fluids in their bodies kidney stones are sadly almost a guarantee.
"Your eyes are such a pretty bright blue!" That was one of the compliments I have always received from people...until recently. Now comments like that are kind of few & far between. Due to the fact that my body produces way to much TNF-a (Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha). TNF-a is a protein that the body makes to cause an inflammatory response. Since mine makes way to much it has to have somewhere to go & in my case it decided to find it's way to my digestive tract especially my colon, but it doesn't always just stay in my colon. It can migrate to the eyes causing redness and swelling. The most common kind of eye problem in CD patients is known as Uveitis, this is when the middle layer of the eye ball swells. Symptoms include blurred vision, pain, redness, & a sensitivity to light. Another type of eye problem is called Keratopathy. This one is a build up of calcium in the cornea of the eye. Sounds nasty right, this one does not cause pain or vision loss but in order to diagnose it an eye doctor has to examine your eyes with what is known as a split lens. Episcleritis is, like the name says, inflammation of the episclera of the eye or the outer coating of the white part of the eye. This occurs when tiny blood vessels in this part of the eye become inflamed, dilate & then become red. This results in pain & tenderness of the eye & can clear up on it's own when or if the patient's IBD goes into remission but it can also be treated with topical creams or steroid eye drops. The last common eye problem is called Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (KCS) or more commonly known as dry eye. This is due to a deficiency of vitamin A & caused by decreased tear production or increased evaporation of tear film. This one can get pretty serious, it can cause eye infection, itching & burning, & can lead to night blindness. Vitamin A supplements, taken orally or given by injection, can correct the efficiency & fake tears can deliver relief to the patient. Long term us of corticosteroids can also lead to glaucoma.
Almost everyone has had at least one canker sore in their lifetime, right?! Well Crohn's patients suffer from canker sores, but these are like canker sores on steroids!! I get a lot of these & oh my goodness they hurt!!! A better term to use when talking about the mouth sores that CD patients get would be ulcers. They tend to get really nasty & bloody! If you are in remission the chances of getting a mouth ulcer is super low.
There are so many more problems that Crohn's & the different medications used to treat Crohn's can cause but these are just few of the common & not so common problems that patients face along their journey.
I hope that you guys were maybe able to learn something or find some kind of help from this article! Thanks for reading!!!
~Kaylee
The inflammation caused by this disease can also have an effect on the structure of a person's skeletal system. The problem here lies in the proteins known as cytokines. These tiny little proteins are what antagonize a person's inflammatory response. People who have a more aggressive case of Crohn's disease may experience more bone loss than others due to the use of more steroids to control their inflammation and symptoms.
Anybody ever hear of anemia? That can also tag along with CD as well. What is anemia you might be asking. Anemia is simply when your blood does not have enough red blood cells in it. I have personally had red counts so low that I was about .1 points away from having to go to the hospital & have a blood transfusion. Scary stuff right?! Kind of yeah, but totally manageable that's the good thing about it!!
Raise your hand if you have ever had a kidney stone. Almost everyone I talk to seems to think that kidney stones are for "old people". They totally aren't! I've had my fare share & I'm 19! Because CD patients can become severely dehydrated due to excessive bathroom trips & not being able to keep food or fluids in their bodies kidney stones are sadly almost a guarantee.
"Your eyes are such a pretty bright blue!" That was one of the compliments I have always received from people...until recently. Now comments like that are kind of few & far between. Due to the fact that my body produces way to much TNF-a (Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha). TNF-a is a protein that the body makes to cause an inflammatory response. Since mine makes way to much it has to have somewhere to go & in my case it decided to find it's way to my digestive tract especially my colon, but it doesn't always just stay in my colon. It can migrate to the eyes causing redness and swelling. The most common kind of eye problem in CD patients is known as Uveitis, this is when the middle layer of the eye ball swells. Symptoms include blurred vision, pain, redness, & a sensitivity to light. Another type of eye problem is called Keratopathy. This one is a build up of calcium in the cornea of the eye. Sounds nasty right, this one does not cause pain or vision loss but in order to diagnose it an eye doctor has to examine your eyes with what is known as a split lens. Episcleritis is, like the name says, inflammation of the episclera of the eye or the outer coating of the white part of the eye. This occurs when tiny blood vessels in this part of the eye become inflamed, dilate & then become red. This results in pain & tenderness of the eye & can clear up on it's own when or if the patient's IBD goes into remission but it can also be treated with topical creams or steroid eye drops. The last common eye problem is called Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (KCS) or more commonly known as dry eye. This is due to a deficiency of vitamin A & caused by decreased tear production or increased evaporation of tear film. This one can get pretty serious, it can cause eye infection, itching & burning, & can lead to night blindness. Vitamin A supplements, taken orally or given by injection, can correct the efficiency & fake tears can deliver relief to the patient. Long term us of corticosteroids can also lead to glaucoma.
Almost everyone has had at least one canker sore in their lifetime, right?! Well Crohn's patients suffer from canker sores, but these are like canker sores on steroids!! I get a lot of these & oh my goodness they hurt!!! A better term to use when talking about the mouth sores that CD patients get would be ulcers. They tend to get really nasty & bloody! If you are in remission the chances of getting a mouth ulcer is super low.
There are so many more problems that Crohn's & the different medications used to treat Crohn's can cause but these are just few of the common & not so common problems that patients face along their journey.
I hope that you guys were maybe able to learn something or find some kind of help from this article! Thanks for reading!!!
~Kaylee