My Crohnstipated Life

Ok, this is I thik the most irritating part of having Crohn’s Disease.  Approximately 20% of people with Crohn’s disease develop complications around their anus; called perianal disease, just a fancy word to say for around their anus. And those complications can include having a fissure of the anal canal. The anal canal is the muscle that holds us from having stool all of the time. And the sign of that is that you go to the bathroom and it is very painful to have a bowel movement and often has bleeding associated with it so that’s an anal fissure.

People with Crohn’s disease can also have something called anal tags. They are like big pieces of skin around the anus that you can feel when you’re wiping and they can be painful. And finally they can have something called fistulas. Fistula is a fancy word for a connection between the inside of the bowel to the outside of the bowel. In this case, they’re usually from the anus or the rectum to the skin around the anus. These are fistulas. Most people notice them because they feel like painful bumps, like you are sitting on a big pimple, and can sometimes explode and drain pus and occasionally stool or blood that come from these fistulas but it can be very painful.

Risk factors for Crohn’s disease may include:

■Age. Crohn’s disease can occur at any age, but you’re likely to develop the condition when you’re young. Most people are diagnosed with Crohn’s between the ages of 20 and 30.

■Ethnicity. Although whites have the highest risk of the disease, it can affect any ethnic group. If you’re of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, your risk is even higher.

■Family history. You’re at higher risk if you have a close relative, such as a parent, sibling or child, with the disease. As many as 1 in 5 people with Crohn’s disease has a family member with the disease.

■Cigarette smoking. Cigarette smoking is the most important controllable risk factor for developing Crohn’s disease. Smoking also leads to more severe disease and a greater risk of surgery. If you smoke, stop. Discuss this with your doctor and get help. There are many smoking-cessation programs available if you are unable to quit on your own.

■Where you live. If you live in an urban area or in an industrialized country, you’re more likely to develop Crohn’s disease. Because Crohn’s disease occurs more often among people living in cities and industrial nations, it may be that environmental factors, including a diet high in fat or refined foods, play a role in Crohn’s disease. People living in northern climates also seem to have a greater risk of the disease.

■Isotretinoin (Accutane) use. Isotretinoin (Accutane) is a powerful medication sometimes used to treat scarring cystic acne or acne that doesn’t respond to other treatments. Although cause and effect hasn’t been proved, studies have reported the development of inflammatory bowel disease with isotretinoin use.

■Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Although these medications — ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others), naproxen (Aleve), diclofenac (Cataflam, Voltaren), piroxicam (Feldene), and others — haven’t been shown to cause Crohn’s disease, they can cause similar signs and symptoms. Additionally, theses medications can make existing Crohn’s disease worse.