World's Top YouTuber MrBeast Reveals Struggles with Crohn's Disease on Podcast
Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease... Treatable with Medication
MrBeast (26), the world's number one YouTuber with 366 million subscribers, has sparked attention by revealing his battle with Crohn's disease. On the 20th (local time), MrBeast appeared as a guest on the podcast 'Diary of a CEO,' hosted by British entrepreneur Steven Bartlett, where he disclosed, "Growing up in a financially difficult household made managing Crohn's disease very challenging."
MrBeast said, "My mom always worked alone to raise me and my brother, and I was very sick as a child due to Crohn's disease," adding, "At that time, I went to the bathroom about 8 to 10 times a day. My gastrointestinal tract was attacking itself, and I couldn't digest any food at all. The inflammation in my gastrointestinal tract was so severe that it felt like someone was constantly stabbing my stomach."
As a result, his weight dropped from 86 kg to 63 kg at the age of 15. However, it is known that he has regained his health through treatment and diet management, increasing his weight to 92 kg. He also mentioned that his immune system weakened due to side effects from the Crohn's disease medication (Remicade) he is using. He said, "(After medication) I caught COVID-19 six times and also suffered from shingles," adding, "Recently, I was hospitalized for four days in a hospital in South Africa due to flu complications."
Crohn's disease, which MrBeast suffers from, is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that can occur in any part of the digestive tract. It mainly appears from late teens to twenties and tends to have periods of remission and exacerbation. The exact cause of the disease is not yet known, but it is suspected to result from an excessive immune response of the body to the normal gut microbiota in the digestive tract, along with environmental and genetic factors.
The main symptoms of Crohn's disease include diarrhea, abdominal pain, and weight loss, and it can be accompanied by general weakness, loss of appetite, and low-grade fever. Notably, more than 50% of Crohn's disease patients are known to develop anal lesions such as fistulas or hemorrhoids. If these symptoms are present, it is advisable to consider the possibility of Crohn's disease. Crohn's disease can be treated with medication. Drugs that reduce inflammation, immunosuppressants, antibiotics, and biologics are used. However, since these drugs have strong immune-modulating functions, side effects such as decreased immunity, increased risk of infection, allergic reactions, and liver dysfunction may occur.
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