Chrones Disease Symptoms

Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease. It can cause inflammation in the lining of your bowel that can lead to severe symptoms that cause a reduced quality of life. The symptoms can cause other serious illness, such as malnutrition, which wreaks havoc on your body. As the symptoms worsen, they can cause you to become debilitated, and you may have to drastically alter your life.

Pain and Cramping

• As inflammation increases, it leads to ulcerations on the colon walls. According to Mayo Clinic, this inflammation and ulceration causes swelling and leaves scar tissue. The swelling and scar tissue can cause problems with how well feces moves through your bowel. This can lead to severe pain and cramping that only worsens as the condition progresses. You may also suffer from abdominal bloating. A person with a severe case of Crohn's disease may also suffer from a blockage in the bowel, which can lead to nausea, vomiting and, in some cases, hospitalization.

Blood in Stool

• As Crohn's disease worsens and causes ulcers in your colon, this may also cause bleeding in your intestinal tract. According to Mayo Clinic, you may see bright-red blood in the toilet after a bowel movement. You may also see a dark stool that is indicative of dried blood. There may also be another type of bleeding that you may never see, and is referred to as occult bleeding. Loss of blood in the bowel can lead to other medical conditions, such as anemia.

Appetite and Weight Loss

• Crohn's disease can cause appetite loss and ultimately severe weight loss. Suffering from Crohn's disease can also cause you to become increasingly emaciated as the disease progresses. This can be due to the increased inflammation in the bowel and the bowels inability to absorb nutrients. Also, some people who have appetite and weight loss become very nauseated and may even vomit, which only increases the weight loss. It is a vicious cycle that can be hard to stop.

Eye Inflamation

• Eye inflammation (uveitis) is another symptom of Crohn's disease. When an organ in the body becomes infected, the infection can transfer to the eyes through your bloodstream. Eye inflammation is commonly found in a person with moderate to severe Crohn's disease. "The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine" reports that eye inflammation can also occur in those taking rifabutin for treament of their Crohn's disease. Immediately report eye inflammation to your physician. Treatment is usually provided through corticosteroids eye drops.

Arthritis

• According to A. M. Reimold in "The Journal of Postgrad Med," arthritis occurs in 23 percent of Crohn's disease patients. Arthritis usually starts within the first years of the Crohn's disease and hits children especially hard. It usually affects knees and ankles in its sufferers and commonly lasts less than 10 weeks before improvement is seen. Reimold also reports that 70 percent of joint flares coincide with exacerbations of intestinal disease.