What kinds of drugs are used to treat Crohns disease?
There are several types of drugs used to treat Crohn’s disease. The first step usually involves reducing inflammation. Many people are first treated with sulfasalazine (Azulfidine). This drug is the most common of those that contain mesalamine. Mesalamine is also known as 5-aminosalicylic acid, or 5-ASA. Possible side effects of sulfasalazine and other mesalamine-containing drugs may include: • nausea • vomiting • diarrhea • heartburn • headache If a person does not respond to sulfasalazine, the doctor may prescribe other types of drugs that contain 5-ASA. These other products include: • olsalazine (Dipentum) • balsalazide (Colazide, Colazal) • mesalamine (Asacol, Lialda, Pentasa, and others) Corticosteroids such as prednisone are another class of drugs that reduce inflammation. A doctor is likely to prescribe an initial large dose of prednisone when the disease is very active. The dose is then tapered off. A problem with corticosteroids is the large number of possible side effects —
