There's no cure for Crohn's disease, but there are several therapies available to help manage symptoms.

Most people with Crohn's disease can lead a fairly normal life with treatment.

The treatments your doctor recommends will depend on the severity and type of symptoms you're experiencing, as well as what parts of your digestive tract are affected.

The two main types of treatment for Crohn's disease are medication and surgery.

Medications for Crohn’s Disease

There are a number of medicines available to treat Crohn's disease.

Your doctor may recommend one or more drugs, depending on which parts of the digestive tract are causing your symptoms.

Most medications to treat Crohn's disease reduce inflammation and suppress the immune system.

Some medicines are used to treat flares, when symptoms are at their worst. Other medicines help prevent the return of symptoms once they've gone away.

According to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, common medicines for Crohn's disease include:

Aminosalicylates (5-ASAs) These drugs help reduce inflammation in the digestive tract, especially in the colon.

Aminosalicylates are generally prescribed for people with mild to moderate symptoms. According to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, they’re most useful as a maintenance treatment to prevent relapses.

Their effects are localized to the intestines, and they have fewer side effects than some of the other medications used to treat Crohn's.

Apriso, Asacol, Delzicol, Lialda, or Pentasa (mesalamine) and Azulfidine (sulfasalazine) are the most commonly prescribed aminosalicylates used to treat Crohn's disease, although they are not as widely prescribed as they used to be, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Corticosteroids Also known simply as steroids, these drugs help reduce inflammation and immune system activity.

They’re generally prescribed for people with moderate to severe symptoms, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

Deltasone (prednisone), Medrol (methylprednisolone), and Entocort EC (budesonide) are commonly prescribed corticosteroids for Crohn’s disease.

Corticosteroids suppress the entire immune system, not just in the digestive tract.

Because they can have significant side effects in both the long and short term, steroids are usually taken only for short periods of time to help control a Crohn’s disease flare, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

Immunomodulators These drugs help reduce inflammation by suppressing the body’s immune system.

Your doctor may recommend an immunomodulator if you have severe symptoms, or if you haven’t seen enough improvement in your symptoms with aminosalicylates and corticosteroids.

These drugs may help you stop taking corticosteroids or maintain remission when other drugs haven’t been effective for this purpose, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

Immunomodulators may take between a few weeks and three months to start working, the NIDDK reports.

According to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, commonly prescribed immunomodulators include Imuran (azathioprine), Purinethol (6-mercaptopurine), and Prograf (tacrolimus).

Biologic response modifiers (biologics) These drugs help prevent inflammation by targeting proteins made by the immune system.

Biologics are the newest class of drugs used to treat Crohn’s disease, and they’re usually reserved for people who haven’t responded well to more established treatments, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

They're often taken in combination with other medications and are given intravenously (by IV) or by injection.

Some biologics can be taken at home, but others must be given in a doctor's office.

Commonly prescribed biologics include Remicade (infliximab), Humira (adalimumab), Cimzia (certolizumab), Tysabri (natalizumab), Stelara (ustekinumab), and Entyvio (vedolizumab).

Antibiotics These drugs can help treat or prevent Crohn’s complications that involve infection, such as abscesses and fistulas.

According to the Mayo Clinic, researchers believe that antibiotics may reduce the amount of harmful bacteria in the intestines, and thus reduce inflammation.

Commonly prescribed antibiotics for Crohn’s disease include Cipro (ciprofloxacin) and Flagyl (metronidazole).

Surgery for Crohn’s Disease

Your doctor may recommend surgery for your Crohn’s disease if your symptoms aren't getting better with medicine.

As many as 75 percent of people with Crohn's disease will need surgery at some point, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

Surgery isn't a cure for Crohn's disease, but some people can live without symptoms for as long as several years after surgery.

According to the Mayo Clinic, taking medications after surgery can help prevent or delay recurrence of your disease.

Commonly performed surgeries for Crohn's disease include:

Resection and anastomis In this procedure, a surgeon removes the diseased part of your small intestine or colon and reconnects what remains, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

Strictureplasty This procedure may be used in certain cases to reopen an area of the bowel that has become blocked (usually part of the small intestine) without removing the section altogether, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation explains.

Colectomy, proctocolectomy, and ileostomy A simple colectomy removes the colon but preserves the rectum, allowing stool to pass through the anus normally.

A proctocolectomy removes the entire colon and rectum. It’s performed along with an ileostomy, which creates an opening in your abdomen (called a stoma) for waste to pass through, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

Waste is then collected in an external bag or pouch, which can be emptied into a toilet and replaced whenever it fills up.

Complementary and Alternative Treatments

There's little scientific evidence that complementary or alternative therapies provide clear benefits for people with Crohn's disease, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Some people with Crohn's disease use complementary therapies, together with conventional treatments such as medicine and surgery, to help reduce symptoms.

Complementary therapies for Crohn's disease include:

Stress-reduction techniques While stress does not cause Crohn’s disease, it can exacerbate symptoms and trigger flare-ups, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Stress reduction and relaxation techniques like yoga and mindfulness meditation can help ease your mind, thereby improving overall health and well-being.

A research review published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research in 2019 found that yoga can have a positive impact on mental health in people with IBD, helping to reduce depression and anxiety and improving overall quality of life.

There’s some evidence to suggest meditation may also have a positive impact on Crohn’s disease symptoms. A study published in April 2020 in Nature concluded that mindfulness meditation may help reduce inflammation in people with Crohn’s.

Acupuncture This ancient practice of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) involves a practitioner inserting fine needles in various locations on your body. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, research has shown acupuncture can help improve a variety of health conditions.

A research review published in 2019 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology found that acupuncture — combined with herb burning, called moxibustion — led to significantly less Crohn's disease activity, as shown by self-reporting.

Herbal and plant-based remedies According to an April 2015 article in the journal Annals of Gastroenterology, herbal and plant remedies that have been shown in studies to reduce active Crohn's disease include wormwood, cannabis, Boswellia serrata, and Tripterygium wilfordii.

Tell your doctor if you use any complementary therapies, especially if you're taking dietary supplements or vitamins.

These products may contain ingredients that could interact with other medications you're taking, and some supplements may contain impurities or have dangerous side effects, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

Additional reporting by Ashley Welch

Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking

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