Final answer:
Crohn's disease treatment involves medications and lifestyle changes to manage symptoms and maintain remission, but consistent use of immune-suppressing drugs can lead to increased infection risk.
Step-by-step explanation:
The treatment of Crohn's disease typically involves the use of medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs and immune-suppressing drugs, as well as lifestyle changes like dietary modifications and smoking cessation. These treatments are aimed at alleviating symptoms during flare-ups and helping to maintain remission. However, a possible problematic outcome of consistent treatment, particularly with corticosteroids or other immune-suppressing drugs, is an increased susceptibility to infections, as seen in the case study of David, who developed a lung infection. Surgery might be necessary for severe cases to address bowel obstructions, abscesses or to reduce the risk of complications like bowel cancer.
The chronic inflammation of Crohn's is a result of innate immunity impairment, leading the immune system to compensate for this impairment. A patient's genetic makeup, combined with environmental factors such as diet and smoking, contributes to the risk of developing Crohn's disease.