Therapies for IBD can be divided into two main groups

• Therapies that lead to remission (to get the disease under control)
• Therapies that maintain remission (keep the disease under control)

Some medicines are more useful in some types of IBD. For instance, some therapies are used only in Crohn's Disease (CD) but not in Ulcerative Colitis (UC). Generally, when choosing a type of treatment for a child the important considerations are to

1. Begin with medications that cause fewer side-effects and move to stronger medications if necessary
2. Take into account the pattern and location of disease (different medications may be needed for someone with CD in the stomach compared to someone with CD around the bottom).