How to Treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease or IBD covers a range of digestive disorders which affect the intestines and rectum. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are the most commonly diagnosed conditions, but many patients go undiagnosed due to a large range of unclear symptoms. Inflammatory bowel disease can prove difficult to treat, and treatment usually focuses on decreasing symptoms rather than eradicating the cause of IBD. Read on to learn how to treat inflammatory bowel disease.

Instructions

Treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease With Medication

• 1

  Try over-the-counter anti-diarrhea medication to help with mild inflammatory bowel disease symptoms.

• 2

  Ask your doctor about aminosalicylates which help treat intestinal inflammation. Sulfasalazine and mesalamine are commonly prescribed aminosalicylates used to treat IBD sufferers.

• 3

  Consider using corticosteroids to treat inflammation that does not respond to aminosalicylates treatment. Pills and intravenous injections are typically used to treat areas of the bowel above the rectum and enemas or foams can be used to treat the rectum area. Prednisone is a common corticosteroid used to treat inflammatory bowel disease.

• 4

  Treat your body with immune system suppressants like cyclosporine. Immunosuppressive medications may be used when other medications used to treat inflammatory bowel disease fail.

Treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease Naturally

• 5

  Educate yourself about treating inflammatory bowel disease through diet and nutrition with the book "What to Eat with IBD: A Comprehensive Nutrition and Recipe Guide for Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis." See the Resources section below for a link.

• 6

  Take a probiotic supplement. Probiotics are organisms which live inside of the digestive system and work to add helpful bacteria and keep the system balanced. Probiotics may effectively treat and prevent diarrhea and abdominal pain in inflammatory disease patients.

• 7

  Increase your intake of essential fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids may reduce inflammation and help keep patients who are experiencing IBD remission stable. Fish, flaxseed and hemp seed oils all contain essential fatty acids.

• 8

  Replace lost potassium, magnesium and calcium with vitamin and mineral supplements. Supplements help treat the consequences of deficiencies caused by inflammatory bowel disease.