erythema nodosum

Does anyone else have issues with these painful raised red bumps on their shins? It seems everytime I have a particularly bad week with lots of stomach pain I get a few of these from the knee down and they take awhile to go away. I never got them while on steroids (Entocort) but now that I'm just on pentasa I'm not sure what to do either than just wait them out!

Here's an article that describes a number of Crohn's-related skin problems, including EN. It describes the use of NSAIDs for the treatment of EN, but given the problems that NSAIDs are reported to cause the primary illness, that seems silly. It also mentions the successful use of Potassium Iodide. You would need a prescription for this and would have to get tested for thyroid function during use, so talk to your doctor about it. I found that my GI was really not interested in extra-intestinal manifestations of the illness. You might try your PCP or get a referral to a dermatologist. I mention potassium iodide because it is less dangerous than the steroids/biologicals which also should do the job. Here's the link: http://pmj.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/81/959/580
The relevant section is a bit more than a third of the way down the page - see the part headed "Management".