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Smoking vs. Crohn's

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 5/22/2008 1:38 PM (GMT 0)
Why exactly is smoking bad for Crohn's? I understand why it's bad in general but what makes it affect Crohn's.
Posted 5/22/2008 5:48 PM (GMT 0)
Cigarette smoking affects all parts of the body, including the digestive system. This is especially damaging because the digestive system processes the food we eat into substances that are needed for the body to function properly.


Smoking cigarettes has a negative effect on Crohn's disease. People who smoke, or who have smoked in the past, have been shown to have a higher risk of developing Crohn's disease than non-smokers. Crohn's disease patients who smoke have an increased number of relapses and repeat surgeries, as well as more of a need for aggressive and immunosuppressive treatment. No one knows why smoking worsens Crohn's disease. It is theorized that smoking may decrease blood flow to the intestines or trigger a response in the immune system. Even after quitting smoking, there is still a risk of Crohn's disease to the former smoker.

Check out the link too...

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/69678.php

Posted 5/22/2008 6:12 PM (GMT 0)
Well, that is very interesting because in Season I of HOUSE, House prescribed a mall Santa Claus who had IBD a cigarette a day to combat his symptoms!! :)
Posted 5/22/2008 6:37 PM (GMT 0)
interesting yes, but keep it in perspective, isn't House a tv show....therefore, "fiction"? those shows often play off of viewer thought processes...
Posted 5/22/2008 7:20 PM (GMT 0)
That IBD on the episode of House, would have likely been referring to ulcerative colitis, which when it comes to smoking can be the opposite of crohns...

Doctors have long known that smokers rarely suffer from a common form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) called ulcerative colitis, but they didn't know why. A new study in the December 19 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine might help explain this apparent resistance. Scott Plevy and his colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh now show that carbon monoxide (CO), a component of cigarette smoke, helps shut down the intestinal inflammation that causes ulcerative colitis.

 

:)

Posted 5/22/2008 7:42 PM (GMT 0)
So smoking is bad for Crohn's but okay for ulcerative colitis?
Posted 5/22/2008 7:59 PM (GMT 0)
It's bad all the way around!!! No one, not even a UC-er, should pick up the habit to try to heal their intestinal inflammation...not worth the risk.
Posted 5/22/2008 11:19 PM (GMT 0)

mowlowdee said...
So smoking is bad for Crohn's but okay for ulcerative colitis?

That's pretty much it, but of course nothing is written in stone, many UCers that take up smoking still have issues and don't necessarily go into remission, they are however working on a med to simulate what the carbon monoxide's effect is on inflammation in the colon...and not every CDer necessarily gets worse when smoking...my CD is located in the colon, when I quit smoking for 3 yrs it was hell on my CD, I started again and things did improve, it's not likely like that for every crohns-colitis sufferer either.

Yes, smoking is bad, but what isn't?  Consuming to much sugar, drinking alcohol, doing drugs, ect are also bad...I'm not promoting anyone to smoke, I'm simply sharing the facts on smoking and IBD.

:)

Posted 5/23/2008 2:02 AM (GMT 0)
It is so strange that smoking can bring on a flare for Crohn's but can help Ulcerative Colitis.  I have Crohn's and used to smoke but quit - however, a few months back when I was well I had a few weekends of fun, lots of dinners out and cocktails, a cigarette here, a cigarette there with an extra glass of wine - and boom.  Flare. 

It is very interesting since Crohn's and Colitis are so similar but things like this make it so different.

32 yr old Female

Crohn's Colitis

Remicade, pain rx, protonix

Posted 5/23/2008 4:10 AM (GMT 0)
It is strange, but it seems to only be a benefit for colon inflammation, yet can aggrivate small intestinal inflammation/disease...they don't seem to fully understand why, but even according to my CCFC journals, they say that smoking is one KNOWN trigger for crohn's disease...this includes second-hand smoke.

:)
Posted 5/23/2008 6:18 AM (GMT 0)
My nurse told me that smoking makes the symptoms worse. Like food, smoking gets the digestive track working/moving, which we all know causes frequent trips to the bathroom.

Posted 5/23/2008 12:08 PM (GMT 0)
I was worse when I was smoking. I quit 2 years ago when I got pregnant with my son. It was the best thing that I could have done.
Still have issues, but nearly like I used to.
Posted 5/23/2008 5:22 PM (GMT 0)
Well guys i want to honest with you all, when i quit last year i had more flares then ever with Crohn's. I started up again now and i hardly have any now. So i really don't know what to say, i know it was stupid to start but i was so depressed from being sick all the time i started up again.
I'm not giving up though i'm still going to quit smoking but now is just not the time..
Posted 5/23/2008 5:55 PM (GMT 0)
Erik 45 :)

That's exactly how it was for me, I quit for 3 yrs (I used Zyban) and had no intentions of ever starting again, but was so sick of being sicker and sicker that I actually had to force myself to smoke again, I almost threw up and it was worse then the first time in my life when I actually started...I only smoke 6 cigs a day since starting again...which is much better than the pack/day I was smoking.

My GP said 6 a day is really not much to worry about health-wise considering all the pollution we breath in everyday, not to mention the other toxins we're exposed to daily. So I'm good with my 6/day and feeling better CD wise because of it, this is a small risk I'm willing to take for myself.

:)
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