Table of contents hide 1 2 3 What is the alternative treatment of Crohn's disease ?, by Dr. Elena Bejarano 4
QUESTION: I am diagnosed with Crohn's disease and I should not take anti-inflammatories, what can I take as a substitute for conventional medication? Angel.
ANSWER: DRA. ELENA BEJARANO, Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, and diploma in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Homeopathy. Collaborate in the OMEGA ZETA CLINIC.
Crohn's disease is included in the "Inflammatory bowel diseases" group. It is a chronic disorder that can occur with outbreaks, remissions and recurrences. It consists of the inflammation of any part of the digestive system, the most frequent being the distal area of the small intestine, the ileum.
The cause is not completely defined and different factors are considered, such as hereditary, infectious, dietary and toxic, among other possible. It is suspected, given the extraintestinal symptoms and response to corticosteroids, that there may be an immune basis in the process.
This disease can occur at any age, although it is often before 40 years. Its incidence has been increasing as the standard of living has risen. Its main symptoms are usually abdominal pain, diarrhea, perianal manifestations, constitutional conditions such as fatigue, fever and weight loss, hemorrhages, joint disorders, liver problems, dermatological, ophthalmic and a long etcetera.
Its diagnostic process is through analytics, stool examination, radiological tests, ultrasound, endoscopic procedures ... Given its evolution to outbreaks, the control of the disease is very important, which we will discuss in this section from the integral scope.
The therapy must be individualized according to the clinical and psychosocial aspects of each patient. Treatment should control inflammation, correct nutritional deficiencies and mitigate symptoms such as pain, diarrhea or rectal bleeding.
The main conventional drugs for the treatment of the disease are sulfasalazine and corticosteroids. Sometimes the use of immunosuppressants is necessary. Sometimes, due to complications, surgical treatment is necessary. In Spain, in 2009 a pioneering treatment began to treat those affected by this disease with cell therapy. The new therapy is based on an autologous bone marrow transplant; that is, those affected receive the stem cells from their bone marrow.
It is also important to review the diet of each patient, including a study of food intolerances to customize it, thus reducing possible causes of inflammation and immune hyperreactivity. Vitamin and mineral supplementation should be carried out that may be deficient, such as vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K, folates, calcium, copper, manganese, selenium and zinc.
The use of probiotics and fish oils allows reducing the symptoms, the first due to the infectious component that could exist from the disease and the second due to its anti-inflammatory characteristics.
The use of holistic therapies such as homeopathy and acupuncture, which contemplate the patient by connecting their physical and emotional aspect, together with their response to the environment through probably their brain and their nervous and immune systems, allows to support with very good results this type of patients, controlling their symptoms to offer a better quality of life.
We must not forget the body-mind therapies that allow pain and stress control, such as yoga, meditation, reiki ... The synergy of medicines offers us an evolutionary step in multifactorial diseases. Do not hesitate to consult with a health professional before starting unconventional treatments on your own.
I graduated in Medicine and Surgery for more than 20 years at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and I had the great opportunity in my training to coincide with a professor who taught us some notions of another type of medicine, acupuncture, so A year before finishing my degree, I started my training in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Since I started working as a doctor I have tried to integrate both medicines, either in the emergency room, in admitted patients or in the outpatient clinic. Years later, when checking the good results that homeopathy obtained with animals and the problems I sometimes encountered with a patient and needles, I decided to study it. So I found that fantastic symbiosis between our conventional medicine - which has allowed us to know so many things about our physical body, its functioning and its alterations -, acupuncture and homeopathy, holistic therapies that allow me to view the human being globally, including its emotions and their relationships with the environment, always in interdependence.
I currently work in the OMEGA ZETA CLINIC of Barcelona, specialized in Integrative Medicine, where the human being is the center of attention of the healing process. The treatments combine traditional and complementary medicine with the most advanced and effective technologies.
What is the alternative treatment of Crohn's disease ?, by Dr. Elena Bejarano
