What is irritable bowel syndrome?
Irritable Bowel syndrome or IBS is a disorder of the digestive tract that results from various causes. Symptoms can vary widely making a difficult disorder to identify and treat.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of IBS can vary from individual to individual and may come and go at different times of a person’s life.
Symptoms can include but are not limited to -
Constipation
Diarrhoea
Alternating episodes of constipation and diarrhoea
Abdominal cramping
Abdominal bloating
Flatulence
Burping
Reflux
Nausea
Mucus present in bowels
Heartburn
Early satiety
Causes of IBS
While the exact causes of IBS are unknown, it is acknowledged that certain environmental factors can exacerbate symptoms.
These include -
Stress
Diet
Eating habits
Hyper-sensitivity of the gut
Bacterial infection of the gut
Virus or parasite infection
Common dietary aggravators
Fruit
Wheat
Lactose
Onions
Fatty foods
Spicy foods
Alcohol
Artificial sweeteners
Gaseous vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower
Inadequate dietary fibre
Treatment
Treatment of IBS symptoms means treating those factors which are exacerbating the condition. If stress is flaring up symptoms, then stress relief treatment needs to be targeted, e.g. relaxation strategies. Help from a dietitian and general practitioner can help in identifying those factors which play a role in your IBS symptoms and dietary components which are affecting you.
It is also important to rule out other possible diseases and disorders such as coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, diverticulitis, endometriosis and cancer.
In addition, you may need the aid of medication or supplementation in helping to improve the health of your gut, eg. Probiotics
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