Understanding the role of inflammation in pediatric Crohn’s disease

Many Crohn's symptoms may be caused by inflammation.

One factor involved in your child's Crohn's disease is producing too much of a protein called TNF. This overproduction of TNF can cause your child's gastrointestinal tract to become inflamed, which can trigger Crohn’s symptoms.

Crohn's symptoms can include abdominal pain/cramping and diarrhea, and are the result of inflammation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Complications (different types of bowel injury) can also develop if the inflammation is persistent.

Crohn’s disease symptoms are the result of inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract.

Your child’s Crohn's symptoms depend on the severity of inflammation.

Symptoms are unpredictable and often depend on the level of severity as well as location of inflammation, which could be anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus, including the stomach and intestines. This is why it’s always important to talk to your child about any of the symptoms of pediatric Crohn’s disease that they may be experiencing.

People may experience Crohn's differently.

Since each person is different, Crohn’s does not progress in the same way for everyone. Symptoms can be similar to other GI disorders that may make Crohn's difficult to diagnose. Pediatric Crohn’s disease symptoms can include:

Abdominal pain. Often cramping and intermittent. The abdomen may be sore when touched. Abdominal pain may feel like a dull, constant ache depending on the location of inflammation
Diarrhea. Some people have diarrhea many times a day and need to wake up at night to go to the bathroom
Fever. A high fever may indicate a complication
Unintended weight loss. Ongoing symptoms, such as vomiting or diarrhea, can lead to substantial weight loss
Delayed Growth. Possibly a result of loss of appetite, an excessive loss of nutrients due to diarrhea, or other factors

The goal of treatment: symptom relief of your child’s Crohn's disease

The goals of pediatric Crohn's disease management include achieving remission (few or no symptoms) and maintaining remission. HUMIRA is a prescription medicine used to reduce signs and symptoms, and to achieve and maintain clinical remission in children 6 years of age and older with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease when certain other treatments have not worked well enough.

Support along the way

To help provide education about the disease and HUMIRA, we offer you and your child a HUMIRA Ambassador at no additional cost. Your Ambassador can help teach you and your child about pediatric Crohn's disease and provide you with tools to help manage your child's condition, as well as other services and insights. To connect with a HUMIRA Ambassador, call 1.800.4HUMIRA (1.800.448.6472) today (select the option to speak with a nurse).

HUMIRA: Pediatric Crohn's Disease Treatment

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