Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Today we will discuss irritable bowel syndrome or IBS. It is called a syndrome because it is an ill defined grouping of sygns and symptoms.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is defined as chronic or recurrent abdominal pain, altered bowel habits, and bloating, with the absence of structural or biochemical abnormalities to explain these symptoms. IBS is part of a broader group of disorders known as functional gastrointestinal disorders.

It is more common in females than in males, and although it is not life threatening, it does impact significantly the patient's life. Usually it is a disease of young people and adolescents.

The characteristics of abdominal pain vary between patients and even within an individual patient, as it can be dull, achy, colicky, or sharp. Pain can occur anywhere in the abdomen but is commonly located in the below or around the belly button. Stress and food certainly aggravate the pain and it is partially relieved after defecation.

The patient presents with altered bowel habits that include constipation, diarrhea, or alternating constipation with diarrhea.

Sometimes, stools usually are of small volume and pasty in IBS . Even IBS can present with constipation is associated with small, hard, pelletlike stools. Diarrhea characteristically occurs during waking hours and often is precipitated by meals. Mucus can be a component of the stool in as many as 50% of patients with IBS.
In some patients, defecation is associated with a sense of incomplete evacuation that can lead to repeated trips to the bathroom and prolonged straining.
Symptoms of abdominal distension (ie, bloating, increased belching, flatulence) frequently are reported by patients with IBS.

Other gastrointestinal symptoms (ie, heartburn, dyspepsia, nausea, vomiting) are reported in 25-50% of adult patients with IBS. Dyspeptic symptoms are present in as many as 30% of pediatric patients with IBS.

Ok, so now what do we do?


Now several changes need to be addressed. The first one is stress. Please address this issue because stress can definitively worsen any IBS.

The next step is to organize better your life. You need to keep a log of what you eat, when you eat it and the level of stress in your life.

Several foods need to be assessed. IBS can be caused by several types of foods such as: caffeinated drinks ( Soda, coffee ), Chocolate, wheat and dairy. Avoid them, start yourself on a diet to keep away from your triggers. A more professional allergy testing can always be obtained by your doctor.

Next, you can use peppermint oil capsules ( such as Nature's Way Pepogest ). this can give much relief to abdominal bloating, gas and pain. Anise and peppermint/spearmint teas ( lukewarm )are also goog to soothe your intestines.

Getting into the medical areas the Naturopathic doctors are the ones that started with the idea of replenishing the intestines of good bacteria. There are out there several products that have got several strains of lactobacillus. These, it is my opinion , should always be used on and after starting ANY antibiotic regime and should be prescribed by your regular doctor or picked up by you in any healthfood store. Naturopaths also believe that yeast overgrows on the intestines, making the problem larger. There are several protocols to free your intestines from yeast. A treatment that is less popular is colonics.

Going to a doctor is sometimes necessary because some of these symptoms can also be caused by other diseases especially when patients have fever, weight loss, progression in symptoms, arthritis or rectal bleeding. The doctor can prescribe medication to decrease the muscle cramps or help you with diarrhea or constipation, or deal with bacterial overinfections or yeast.

Please take a look at this video that will outline a few tips for patients with IBS: