How Can Your Doctor Tell If You Have Crohn's Disease?

People that have Crohn's Disease have a life of struggle with this condition. It is an inflammatory condition of the intestinal tract, and causes symptoms such as a lot of cramps in the abdominal area, diarrhea, and malnourishment of the body.

Crohn's Disease goes deep inside into the bowels, and this is why it is so very painful and distressing to those who have to live with it. No one as of yet, has found the cure for this medical problem, but research is being done.

Therapies are out there to help a person cope with Crohn's Disease and lead a better more productive life. Things such as diet, and medications can often do a lot for this problem.

For your doctor to diagnose this problem, there first of all will be a rundown of your medical history and symptoms involved. The first thing to do after that is a physical examination and then a whole slew of testing. One of the things your physician might suggest first is to rule out other similar things such as ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis, and even colon cancer. After that, the blood tests will begin.

Now the blood tests your doctor will order will be a test for anemia which involves a comprehensive metabolic panel. That panel tests for not only anemia, but also potassium levels, cholesterol, sodium, and many other things you carry in the blood. There is also a blood test in particular that looks for certain antibodies which are identified with Crohn's Disease, or ulcerative colitis. That particular test though, is not conclusive since not every one of us walking around will carry these antibodies. So it is not something that makes a definitive diagnosis.

The fecal occult blood test tells whether or not you do or don't have blood inside the stools. This will be done also.

A colonoscopy is another test that can view all of the colon area. It has tube with a light placed into the rectum. Your doctor can take some tissue sample while there for examination in the lab. If granulomas are found, this is indicative of having Crohn's Disease. However, not all people with Crohn's Disease will have the clusters of granulomas.

A Barium enema study is also needed sometimes. The barium dye outlines your bowel, and creates an image of your small intestine clearly shown on an X-ray.

If the treating doctor still isn't so sure about Crohn's Disease a bowel imaging of the small bowel can be done. This test looks at the smaller part of the bowel that the colonoscopy doesn't find. What is seen here is any inflammation and narrowing in the small bowel. After having this test, your physician would then know exactly whether you have ulcerative colitis or Crohn's Disease.

The CT scan is another test doctor's will do to also see the bowel in its entirety. This helps the doctor find out exactly how bad your Crohn's Disease really is.

Diagnosing Crohn's Disease then is quite a long process. But once found, the proper treatments can begin.