Unfortunately, you need to be prepared for flare-ups if you have Crohn's disease (CD).
Flare-ups are when the symptoms of CD return after a period of remission, or low disease activity. A flare-up can occur at any time and under any circumstance. Remember, even though some symptoms of Crohn's can be minimized during treatment, disease symptoms tend to recur over time. That's why CD is known as a chronic (or recurring) disease.
As explained earlier, the goal of CD treatment is to bring patients to a state of remission, in which where they are in a disease-free or limited-disease state. Minimizing flare-ups means trying to keep your disease in a state of remission.
Here are some Crohn's management tips to minimize flare-ups:
- Always take your medication(s) as directed by your doctor, even if you're feeling better. Your risk for a future flare-up is reduced when you take your medication consistently.
- Don't treat your Crohn's flare-up with over-the-counter medications, unless you check with your doctor or pharmacist first. Some over-the-counter medications are known to cause ulcerations, or sores, in the intestinal tract.
- Don't take antibiotics until you check with your doctor. Some antibiotics can cause the disease to flare up.
- Don't smoke. Smoking can make CD more active and can interfere with the remission process. After CD surgery, the illness can recur sooner, and often more severely, in smokers than in nonsmokers.
