Question My 6 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with
crohn's disease. She was ill the month of December and hospitalized for a week. Blood tests
were done and she was rehospitalized 2 days to have biopsies done from her lip and tongue where
she had sores. Her pediatrician referred her to a doctor in Portland, Oregon. She was put on steroids and has recently had a flare up and back
on steroids. Is there anything else that can be
done and is there any particular food that can cause flare ups?
Answer Hi Eleanor, I am so sorry to hear your little baby is ill. Thank goodness there is medication that will help her live a perfectly normal life. Do not let the doctors keep her on steroids too long, Prednisone can do a lot of damage. Ask the doctor about Remicade. They usually do not do the treatment unless the normal medications do not work. Since she has been diagnosed recently, it will take time to figure out which medications and the dosages she should have. Is she on Flagyl, Pentasa, Asacol, Cipro? Flagyl is an antibiotic, Pentasa/Asacol are anti inflamatory meds, Cipro is a strong antibiotic. Foods she should stay away from that can cause flares are many. Fried foods, corn, fiber such as salads, pork, sometimes milk. Anything that is hard to digest for normal folks (like corn) makes our intestines work harder and causes flares. So corn is for sure out. Pork is really bad. If she likes fires, get the ones you can bake. Fast food is horrible as well. Nothing with seeds in or on it. Seeds get caught in the fisulai and can cause an obstruction. Make sure she gets all the rest she can. She will be weak at times and then suddenly get a burst of energy. Try to avoid surgery for as long as possible. When they cut out the bad, the immune system starts attacking the good, so please don't jump into the surgery. My surgery was done in November and the following March, I was "eaten up". Research all you can. There is a website called ccfa.org. There are doctors,nurses n the site that can help you get through this. Also look for a newsgroup called altsupport-crohns-colitis. There are hundreds of folks on that site that can also help you. Most of us there have either Crohn's,IBS,IBD or colitis. Mostly, be sure you have a doctor who knows what this disease it. Was she diagnosed using a CT scan?
Best of luck to you and tell your baby she will be better soon.
