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Sometimes I wonder (awareness of CD vs UC)

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 7/16/2008 5:53 AM (GMT 0)
I know most people will refer to ulcerative colitis simply as "colitis" (although colitis can also mean crohns, when CD is affecting the colon since col=colon and itis=inflammation).

But it seems to me (and maybe it's just me and my experiances) that the general public out there seem to be more aware of the term "colitis" than they are aware of the term crohn's, not that they necessarily understand the differences between UC and CD-colitis but just the fact that they are more familiar with the term colitis yet the word crohn's really seems to throw most for a loop...does anyone eles find this to also be their experiance?

I know they named crohn's after Dr. Beryll Crohn, because he "discovered" it, but honestly I wonder if it would have made it easier if instead of it being termed as "crohns" they called it intestinal-itis which is point blank meaning inflammed intestines or even gastrointestinal-itis, which is certainly longer to spell but even more so to the point...just a thought.

:)

Posted 7/16/2008 11:12 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Most people on here call it the da-- disease.What I want to know is why it is referred to as a disease since it's not catchy.Are there any other things that are called-----disease ? I call it the mind boggling ,med side effect ,always pooping, not eating what I want.surgery,IV, pain gussing oops did I get carried away. ???lol gail
Posted 7/16/2008 11:30 AM (GMT 0)
Personally, I find that more people I speak with know what Crohns is and don't have a clue about Colitis!! When I say I have Colitis.. they ask "Oooo what is that" and I follow by sometimes saying it is similar to Crohns and then they are like "Oh, I know someone with that.. blaw blaw blaw." I do agree that it should be called intestinal-itis.. that would only make too much sense !! lol
Posted 7/16/2008 12:37 PM (GMT 0)
I have only told a couple of people that I have UC and they all looked confused. I told them it is like crohns and they say that they think they have heard of that and it involves stomach problems. i figure it is close enough...
Posted 7/16/2008 1:09 PM (GMT 0)
Well a commonly used medical term for Crohns is regional ileitis, which describes it rpetty well, noting as it does the skip areas (regional) and common involvement of the small bowel (ileum.) However, in my experience when I tell someone I have Crohns a large majority are at elast generally aware of it, usually because they know someone or have a relative with it. There's something to be said for attaching an easily recognized name to a diseas, as witness Lou Gherig's disease vs. ALS. And yes it is a disease, since disease is really dis-ease, meaning anything wrong with the body, not just something you can catch.

Posted 7/16/2008 1:37 PM (GMT 0)
I just say I have an Inflammatory Bowel Disease. If I say IBD they assume I mean IBS. And if I say Crohn's, I usually get a "What?"
Posted 7/16/2008 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
I have found, in my experience, that most people know what Chrohns is because they know someone who has it. If they don't know, I just say I have inflammatory bowel disease.

The word "colitis" I have found is often used to describe any bout of D and cramps. Many people will say "I had a bout of colitis" or "I had colitis for awhile". I find it has a tendency to be used very loosely and not in the true context of UC. I always have to ask, "Have you been diagnosed with UC"? and most of the time they say no, it's just a bout of the runs. I have even come across some doctors who wrongly use the term colitis. That's a bit scary!
Posted 7/16/2008 4:53 PM (GMT 0)
I think it's because colitis can be used in reference to either crohn's or UC, because with UC mainly affecting the colon and with crohn's also being able to affect the colon, is where alot of the confusion sets in, then when I tell someone who's sort of aware of IBD that I have crohn's-colitis they're like "OMG!!! YOU HAVE BOTH", so then I have to explain that no my CD is affecting my colon which is referred to as crohn's-colitis. Even though a small % of IBDers (2-5%) can have both, it's still seems people in general just are not educated enough and with more and more being DX all the time this is scary.

So for all the crohnies out there, when your doc uses the term colitis with you, he's basically telling you that your CD is affecting your colon.

:)
Posted 7/16/2008 4:59 PM (GMT 0)
yeah - I was mad because I thought my doc kept confusing my case and thinking I had UC instead of Crohns. Turns out he was just referring to inflamation when he was saying colitis.
Posted 7/17/2008 12:32 AM (GMT 0)
As far as I know, more people have UC than CD. That might account for the increased awareness you noticed, PB.
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