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foam - how difficult is it to use?

Would anyone out there be willing to share how difficult is it to use the Budesonide foam for a young adult? I'm asking about logistics at this point. Is it uncomfortable? Is it hard to figure out how to do? I understand that many people believe that it doesn't go deep enough to touch Crohn's, but our doctor (head of an IBD center) actually brought it up, his Crohn's is affecting the tail end of his colon, and my young adult son seems open to the idea, so I'm just wondering if anyone has any warnings or suggestions about it purely in terms of the mechanics of it. Thank you.
 

Maya142

Moderator
Staff member
I'm going to tag @my little penguin and @crohnsinct and @Jbungie because they all have kids who tried it (I think 😬 ). My daughter used it very briefly and thought it was much better than suppositories (she found those very painful because she had fissures). The foam was not painful and pretty easy to use. She was also an older teen or a young adult at the time (I can't remember exactly when it was!). In her case, the foam did really help her.
 
Thank you so much for replying! This is so helpful!
A specific concern is whether it might be more uncomfortable in a person that has a ton of gas.
 

crohnsinct

Well-known member
Ok so have you ever used hair mousse. The rectal foam comes in a similar can. You get a syringe type thing and a piece that goes over the dispensing portion of the can. It has two handlevtype things that stick out to the sides.

You take the syringe and push it all the way down. Attach it to the piece with the handles. Attach the whole thing to the can. Hold the can with your non dominant hand or place it on the counter. Placing two fingers on the sides you push down to dispense the foam. Like mousse the foam will enter the syringe and fill it and push the plunger up. One squirt is usually a full dose. If something happens like done seeped out the sides etc you can do another tiny squirt to fill the syringe but you really don’t have to. It’s not an exact science.

Then they lay on their side. Helps to cross one leg over the other with a bent knee. They insert the syringe (it only goes very little bit into the anus) and push the plunger.

It doesn’t really hurt and my daughter said if the three (enema, suppositories and foam) it us the easiest to keep in and the most clean when it comes out. There is really very little seepage.

She did have a little burning feeling once when she was especially raw but but it was totally bearable and didn’t last long.

She did hers at night so she was laying down and could keep the medicine in as long as possible. Her dosing was twice a day but the morning dose had to be fine super early and mornings was when she went to the bathroom a lot so she eventually just dropped it.

Everyone has different experience with how high it gets and which method works best. It is trial and error. For my daughter suppositories worked best. But like oral steroids they lose their effectiveness each successive time. Also, keep in mind it is just a topical treatment. It’s not really healing disease. That’s what the maintenance meds are for. The topicals are great for giving the patient a bit of relief. One time they worked amazingly well for my daughter. She went from 20+ times a day and filling a toilet with blood to once a day and very little blood in a week! But other times they did nothing and she got worse and worse and sometimes just meh.
Good Luck! I am impressed with him deciding to give it a go.
 
Thank you so much - this is exactly the info I was looking for - so helpful! What an amazing community this is.
 
Hi! Our 5yo son was on it for few months, and honestly we would laugh when we did it. It would be..time for the butt foam!

Initially, I was like this is going to be awful, but it wasnt bad. I believe it helped with the sense of urgency that may come with a flare up.
 
Love the humor.
My son is worried that since he is already really gassy, adding something else in there will only make him feel worse. I guess he could just try it.
 

crohnsinct

Well-known member
I don’t think it will add to the gas issues. It is such a small amount of foam and it dissipates so quickly.
 

my little penguin

Moderator
Staff member
Mine was older teen at the time
Just before bed
By due to urgency would “hold it “ for an hour then “go”
Definitely helped him with rectal issues
 
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