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Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease. This lifelong condition causes inflammation and sores in your intestines or other parts of your digestive tract. There’s no cure, but treatments like medication, diet and lifestyle changes, and surgery help control Crohn’s disease.

Medications for Crohn’s Disease

Crohn’s is an autoimmune disease. That means your immune system mistakes healthy cells in your body for foreign invaders and starts attacking them. With Crohn’s, it’s your digestive tract (the tube that runs from your mouth to your anus) that’s under attack.

Most medications for Crohn’s disease help to suppress the abnormal activity in your immune system. That allows your intestines to heal and relieves your symptoms, which can include:

• Fever
• Fatigue
• Diarrhea
• Stomach pain and cramping
• Blood in your stool

Crohn’s disease flares up and then goes into remission. During remission your symptoms are much improved. Immune-suppressing medications for Crohn’s disease also help extend remission time, so symptoms are less frequent.

Besides immune-suppressing medications, your doctor might recommend these Crohn’s medications:

• Biologics — lab-grown antibodies that help stop certain proteins in your body from causing inflammation.
• Antibiotics to treat an infection in your intestines
• Medicines that treat your symptoms, like anti-diarrhea or pain relieving medicines.

Your gastroenterologist (GI doctor) may change your medication depending on the course of your disease, symptoms, and whether you’re in remission. They may also recommend using several medicines together.

Lifestyle Changes to Treat Crohn’s Disease

Lifestyle changes are also part of your treatment for Crohn’s disease. A healthy diet and lifestyle strengthen your body and support your immune system.

Diet Tips for Crohn’s Disease

Eating the right diet for Crohn’s disease helps manage symptoms and reduces the risk of weight loss and malnutrition.

During a flare-up, it’s hard to eat well. You may have no appetite, or your usual diet might increase diarrhea. When your disease is active, you’ll feel better eating small but more frequent portions of foods that are soft, low in fiber, and not heavily seasoned.

Good choices include:

• White bread (instead of whole-grain bread)
• White rice
• Soft, peeled, and cooked fruits and vegetables
• Plain fish or ground chicken
• Scrambled eggs
• Peanut butter
• Tofu

You should avoid alcohol and coffee because they irritate your digestive system. Also, many people with Crohn’s are lactose intolerant. If drinking milk causes gas and diarrhea, switch to non-dairy alternatives, like almond milk.

While you’re in remission, try to eat a greater variety of nutritious foods. They’ll help boost vitamins and minerals. You may find it easier to eat better (and more) if you eat six small meals each day that include

• Colorful fruits and vegetables
• Whole grains (oats, whole wheat bread, brown rice, quinoa)
• Lean proteins (chicken, fish, eggs, tofu)
• Healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, nut butter)

Your UPMC health care team includes registered dietitians who can help plan a diet that supports your health needs. They’ll also work with you to identify foods that make your symptoms worse. That way, you can avoid those foods.

Ask your doctor or dietitian if you should take nutritional supplements like vitamin D, calcium, or protein. Depending on what you’re eating, you might need an extra boost.

Lifestyle Tips for Crohn’s Disease

With Crohn’s, you can have a weakened immune system from your medications, a poor diet, or the disease itself. Thus, you should do all you can to keep yourself healthy with a healthy lifestyle. Make sure you work on:

• Getting about eight hours of sleep every night.
• Reducing stress with techniques like yoga or meditation.
• Quitting cigarette smoking if you smoke.
• Washing your hands often to avoid catching an infection.
• Getting about 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week.

Surgery for Crohn’s Disease

In some cases, you may need surgery to remove a part of your intestines that are badly damaged from the disease. Your doctor will then reconnect the healthy parts of your intestine. The type of surgery you have will depend on where the damage is.

Unfortunately, the effects of surgery are only temporary. The disease eventually recurs, so it’s important to stay on top of your medications, diet, and lifestyle treatments. That can delay another flare.

There is no one-size-fits-all treatment for Crohn’s disease. That’s why it’s essential to visit a doctor at the UPMC Digestive Disorders Center. They’ll monitor your response to these various treatments and make sure you’re doing the right things to stay healthy.