Yes, viral infections can cause Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis!!  When you get infected with a virus it never ever leaves you.  It remains (hopefully) latent inside forever.  In the event, your body has a big challenge the viruses can reactivate.  You see this in cold sores.  And in the reactivation of Epstein Barr virus which is seen in the majority of long covid sufferers.  Why do viruses reactivate?  It’s due to you being under metabolic stress.  Something as simple as wiping out your good gut bacteria with a necessary course of antibiotics can do it.  This is because  70% of your immune cells live in your gut!  The good news is that you can get viruses back into latency so they are not harming you.  I did this with a collection of viral infections that had kept me ill for 8 years.

The cytomegalovirus can cause uveitis (an inflammatory eye condition) AND inflammatory bowel disease.   I first saw this in a patient a couple of years back who had come to me with Crohn’s AND uveitis.  Alarm bells rang immediately.  I use Elispot and cutting-edge PCR testing to check for viruses when relevant.  Even if you’re on immunosuppressant medication the Elispot test works.

Some other complications of cytomegalovirus can include hearing loss, vision loss, seizures, lack of coordination, immune suppression, hepatitis, inflammation of your retina, pneumonitis, oesophagitis,  high blood pressure, polyradiculopathy, transverse myelitis, subacute encephalitis, heart disease, and aortic aneurism.

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