Oftentimes, two similar diseases exist but people end up knowing about only one of the two. This is one of those classic cases: Crohn’s disease is very common, but people know about its cousin, ulcerative colitis.
Named after its discoverer, Burrill Crohn, back in 1932, Crohn’s is a gastrointestinal tract-affecting disease. There are some key differences between UC and Crohn’s.
Two of them stands out: Women are far more probable to contract Crohn’s, and it can happen in any part of your GI tract, whereas UC affects only the colon.
What exactly is Crohn’s?
Our GI tract has healthy symbiotic bacteria that help us digest our food. The most common ones live in our stomachs, but quite a few reside in our intestines too.
When someone contracts Crohn’s, their body mistakenly attacks these healthy, symbiotic bacteria, much like an allergic reaction. This, in turn, causes swelling in areas of the GI tract.
Like many other genetic diseases, scientists are yet to pinpoint the accurate cause of this phenomenon, but at the same time they opine that certain lifestyle choices are bound to aggravate or trigger the symptoms, for example, smoking.
WHAT SIGNS TO LOOK OUT FOR?
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