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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome is a disorder characterized most commonly by cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. IBS causes a great deal of discomfort and distress, but it does not permanently harm the intestines and does not lead to a serious disease, such as cancer. Most people can control their symptoms with diet, stress management, and prescribed medications. For some people, however, IBS can be disabling. They may be unable to work, attend social events, or even travel short distances. As many as 20 percent of the adult population, or one in five Americans, have symptoms of IBS, making it one of the most common disorders diagnosed by doctors. It occurs more often in women than in men, and it begins before the age of 35 in about 50 percent of people. Most people do not seek medical help for mild IBS symptoms, as their symptoms are so mild that they can go about their daily lives without being overly aware of them. However, IBS varies greatly from person to person, and sometime the symptoms can be more severe, and begin to become troublesome to the patient. Abdominal cramps, diarrhea and bloating can be especially bothersome. One symptom will usually predominate in IBS patients, causing them to experience pain, constipation or chronic diarrhea. The most common IBS symptom is abdominal pain - this is often described as being colicky or achy. The pain can be a mild one causing prolonged discomfort, or a severe one that is difficult to ignore. Pain can be relieved by opening the bowels, eating or passing flatus, but it can also be made worse by these activities. It will sometimes occur at a particular time of day, often the evening, and women tend to find the pain is linked with their menstrual cycle (which can bring its own abdominal discomfort). Women are also more likely to suffer from constipation than diarrhoea - also, women are more likely in general to suffer from IBS in the first place. IBS patients often feel they need to urgently move their bowels, especially when they've just had breakfast. Stools often vary in consistency from hard and pellet-like to loose and watery, and sometimes only consists of small amounts of mucus. Subsequently, there can be the frustrating feeling of the bowels being incompletely emptied. Other symptoms may be a bloated abdomen, nausea, excess flatus, indigestion and even vomiting, although this is much less common in IBS patients. If diarrhea is the main symptom, food is passed through the digestive system faster than is normal and healthy. IBS can be accompanied by other problems, including back pain or groin pain, depression, lethargy and tiredness, disturbed sleep patterns, headaches and an urge to urinate more often. This last can be extremely urgent and cause pain - again, this symptom is more common in women, who can also experience painful periods and pain during intercourse. Some IBS patients also report experiencing sexual dysfunction. Such symptoms may be due to an overlap with another condition such as chronic fatigue syndrome or interstitial cystitis. Attacks of IBS symptoms may occur at any time, sometimes even waking patients from sleep. If the symptoms only occur briefly they may just be the kind of occasional bowel disturbance from which everyone experiences. However, if the symptoms occur continuously then they are more likely to be related IBS. Symptoms can sometimes be made worse by diet, hormones or stress. Whatever the combination and severity of the symptoms, IBS may affect the quality of life of the patient, who should be encouraged to seek medical attention for this common illness.What are the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)? Abdominal pain, bloating, and discomfort are the main symptoms of IBS. However, symptoms can vary from person to person. Some people have constipation, which means hard, difficult-to-pass, or infrequent bowel movements. Often these people report straining and cramping when trying to have a bowel movement but cannot eliminate any stool, or they are able to eliminate only a small amount. If they are able to have a bowel movement, there may be mucus in it, which is a fluid that moistens and protect passages in the digestive system. Some people with IBS experience diarrhea, which is frequent, loose, watery, stools. People with diarrhea frequently feel an urgent and uncontrollable need to have a bowel movement. Other people with IBS alternate between constipation and diarrhea. Sometimes people find that their symptoms subside for a few months and then return, while others report a constant worsening of symptoms over time. --- Irritable bowel syndrome is a chronic condition that can affect men and women at any age. The usual age range at which the condition starts to manifest itself is between twenty to forty years of age. Regardless of the age at which the onset of irritable bowel symptoms would happen, one thing remains consistent: it is so difficult to come up with a very accurate diagnosis for the condition. This is particularly true because the symptoms can differ from one patient to another. It is because of this that it would be very helpful to bring to mind the general symptoms that occur when one is afflicted with irritable bowel syndrome. The symptoms of IBS can vary from mild to severe. But one good thing about the condition is that it does not really advance to intestinal disorders of a more serious condition. But the more prominent symptoms of IBS are actually constipation and diarrhea. There are even times when an alternation between these two symptoms occurs. With both conditions, an abnormal frequency of bowel movement also happens. With constipation, your stool actually becomes hard and lumpy, making it very hard for your system to excrete it out. You may then have difficulty maintaining that daily habit of defecating. On the other hand, diarrhea involves your fecal matter becoming all loose and watery. You experience strong urges to defecate so suddenly, that you just might have to defecate three or more times in just one day. With diarrhea, you will surely feel a need to go back to the washroom just minutes after defecating. You have to be very wary about these succeeding times because these will only bring pain. But what about the times when you would alternately experience constipation and diarrhea? You can just imagine how much of a hassle this can be! Imagine the dietary changes that would be required of you, just to deal with both of these symptoms! It is precisely because of this nature of irritable bowel symptoms that it is necessary to keep track of all food items you consume as religiously as possible. Keeping a food journal is definitely in order when you are afflicted with IBS. But you have to be very religious about keeping track of the food you consume. This way, you can eliminate the food items that can trigger symptoms of IBS from your diet. In time, you will be able to devise the perfect diet plan for yourself. But always enlist the medical expertise of your physician regarding such a diet. Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS for short is a condition characterized by the occurrence of abdominal pains, bloating, constipation or diarrhea. IBS is largely a mysterious condition because its exact cause is still not known. A number of theories exist as to what causes IBS, but many doctors have examined patients with IBS only to find that their intestines are normal, no signs of damage visible. Over time, as technology and research continues to advance, we appear to get closer and closer to identifying the possible causes of this disorder. A few decades ago, people with IBS were regarded as "hypochondriacs" since, as previously mentioned, a routine examination of the intestines would yield no signs of damage. Stress is believed to be one of the causes of IBS. Its sufferers report that the symptoms of IBS become more pronounced when they are highly anxious or stressed. The stress causes the muscles of the intestines to spasm, and in the process either trapping gas and fecal matter in the system (constipation) or rushing food out through the system (diarrhea). In most cases, stress-induced constipation or diarrhea is accompanied by several abdominal pains. Aside from stress, a malfunctioning immune system and a sensitive reactive colon are believed to cause IBS. As research on IBS continues, many are starting to think that it is caused by the presence of a large number of bacteria in the small intestine. These bacteria are believed to cause changes in bowel movements, pain, gas and a host of other IBS symptoms. Typically, we only have a small number of bacteria in the small intestine. An abnormally high number of bacteria in this area can certainly cause a problem in the digestive system. Food intolerance is believed to be yet another cause of IBS. Some foods may not affect one person, but can trigger IBS symptoms in another. A person diagnosed with IBS needs to be able to identify the foods that trigger his IBS symptoms so that he can actively avoid consuming these foods, thereby reduce the symptoms of IBS. Patients with IBS need not despair about not being able to eat the trigger foods anymore. According to doctors, they may be able to eat the trigger foods again after some time; it's just that these patients simply needed a break from eating foods that trigger their IBS symptoms. The bottom line is that up until now, the exact cause of IBS is still not known. The ones mentioned earlier are mostly speculations, possible causes. Those in the medical field do have theories as to the causes of IBS but these theories still need backed up by scientific evidence. The search for the root cause or causes still continues research as vigorous as ever. Eventually, science will be able to exactly pin down the cause of IBS. If you have IBS, work with your doctor to come up with a treatment plan that can help you manage and cope with this condition. The good news is that with the right treatment plan, many IBS patients have learned to manage the symptoms of IBS and go back to having an active life.
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