Crohns Disease

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In the small intestine, bile from the liver mixes with food. After digested food is broken down it is absorbed through the surface of the small intestine and distributed to the rest of the body by way of the bloodstream. Watery food residue and secretions that are not digested in the small intestine pass on into the large intestine (the colon). “The colon has two main functions. One is to store waste material. The other is to absorb salt and water” (4). The colon reabsorbs much of the water added to food in the small intestine. Solid, undigested food residue is then passed from the large intestine as a bowel movement. When the small intestine is inflamed the intestine becomes less able to fully digest and absorb the nutrients from food. Such nutrients can escape into the large intestine to varying degrees. This is one reason why people with Crohn's disease become malnourished. When Crohn's disease affects the small intestine, it may cause diarrhea as well as malnutrition. ...

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more common in this form of Crohn's than in others(1)”.
There are many common signs and symptoms of Crohn’s. A symptom is something you can feel, whereas, a sign is something you can observe. Common symptoms include crampy abdominal pain, poor appetite, nausea, diarrhea and a lack of energy. “Some people have mild symptoms while others have severe and disabling ones.”(3) Common signs include paleness, a rash, blood in the stool and weight loss. Pain is often felt around the navel and/or the lower right abdomen and associated with eating. Since people with Crohn’s disease often associate eating with pain, they therefore avoid food causing dramatic weight loss. In the early onset of ...

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