Irritable bowel syndrome
July 22, 2009 by Admin
Filed under IBS - Free Content
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a very common problem affecting the gastrointestinal (digestive) system. It is also sometimes called irritable colon, spastic colon and mucous colitis. It is a chronic (prolonged), intermittent condition characterised by abdominal pains and disturbed bowel movements in the absence of any detectable abnormality of the bowel tissues. It is, therefore, a collection of symptoms rather than a single disease and can only be diagnosed once other diseases such as gastroenteritis or inflammatory bowel disease have been excluded. However, it is a real and unpleasant condition.
What are the causes of irritable bowel syndrome and who is at risk?
For many people IBS is a condition of unknown cause. Some people with IBS also have psychiatric symptoms and stress. Emotional states can affect the function of the digestive tract and IBS is a symptom of depression in some people. IBS may also be caused by abnormal function of the muscles of the intestine (also known as the bowel), which may occur spontaneously or be triggered by stress.
What are the common symptoms and complications of irritable bowel syndrome?
IBS is a relapsing and remitting condition, that is to say it comes and goes. The most common problem is periods of passing frequent small stools that alternate with periods of constipation. Other common symptoms are: sensation of incompletely emptying the bowels,
passage of mucus with stools,
crampy abdominal pain,
bloating,
excessive flatulence (passing of wind).
If the stools contain blood, any diarrhoea is prolonged or other more serious symptoms such as weight loss occur, the person is unlikely to have IBS.
The doctor may also want to carry out some tests, such as:
blood tests,
ultrasound scans of the abdomen,
endoscopy (passing a fibre-optic tube into the digestive tract and directly observing the inside of the bowel),
barium studies (X-rays of the digestive tract after a barium solution has been placed into the bowel).
The purpose of these tests is to exclude other conditions. It may be better to see the doctor on a few occasions over a period of time and have only simple tests performed, rather than to have a whole battery of tests at the first appointment. This will also check that symptoms do not indicate any more serious disease of the digestive tract.
What is the treatment for irritable bowel syndrome?
Self-care action plan
As the cause of IBS is unknown, no therapy is specific. Although responses to change in diet vary between individuals, some people benefit from eating bran (this must be coarse bran from a health food shop, not the fine bran typically found in breakfast cereals), and others find that a reduction in sugar and fat intake helps. It may also be useful to keep to strict meal and toilet times, to help regulate the bowel. Peppermint in tea or in oils is said to have a calming effect on the digestive tract, and so may also be of help.
Complementary therapy
Many herbal and homoeopathic remedies are available for IBS, but (as with the therapies discussed above) little if any evidence shows that they are of benefit. The effects of herbal remedies tend to have been investigated less carefully than those of conventional medicines. Consequently, these preparations may contain compounds with quite powerful effects on the body that have not been rigorously tested for safety. As mentioned above, herbal teas may be of help.
Therapies that reduce stress and promote a sense of well being, including the Alexander technique and yoga is often beneficial.
By: Sajid Latif
About the Author:
Sajid Latif is writing in financial topics and have strong knowledge in all financial matters and points like money and finance, loans life insurance and health insurance etc. To get one best quote for health insurance please visit us.
Why Irritable Bowel Syndrome is More Than Just a Gut Reaction
July 13, 2009 by Admin
Filed under IBS - Free Content
What Is Irritable Bowel Syndrome
IBS is usually depicted as a operational condition since there is no existent pathological tissue at the time the symptoms are felt. IBS affects the muscular organs of the digestive tract; the esophagus, stomach, small bowel, gallbladder, and colon. The term operational refers to the truth that either the muscles of the digestive organs, or the nerves that control these organs, are not working properly. As a result, the digestive system does not function normally. The nerves that moderate the organs include not only the nerves that lie inside the sinews of the organs but also the nerves of the medulla spinalis (spinal cord) and brain. This all the same does not signify, contrary to popular notion, that the symptoms are all in your head. IBS is not a psychosomatic disorder and is not a symptom that has a psychological grounds.
Characteristics
Irritable bowel syndrome is characterized by a group of symptoms in which abdominal muscle pain or irritation is connected with a modification in bowel pattern, such as loose or more frequent movements ordiarrhea, and/orhard or to a lesser extent frequent bowelmovements or irregularity. Irritable bowel syndrome is a disorder that interferes with normal subroutines of the bowel and refers to habitual or recurrent symptoms that are case-specific to each IBS patient. These symptoms are distressing, but irritable bowel syndrome is not a disease. A pragmatic approach for naming irritable bowel syndrome is indicated, using the Rome II standards and the presence of alarm symptoms such as weight loss, gi bleeding, anemia, fever, or frequent nocturnal symptoms as terminus a quo (starting point).
Research
Researchers have accounted that IBS may be stimulated by a bacterial infection in the gastrointestinal tract. But most recently Swedish researchers described in the medical journal Gut that an abnormally high number of bacterium in the small bowel does not appear to be a major agent affecting the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Harvard University investigators have objectively testified that virtually all people with this neuroimmune upset have autonomic deregulation. Canadian researcher, of the University of Alberta, Edmonton, said in a prepared statement. IBS symptoms of abdominal pain or irritation, bloating and constipation are linked to impaired quality of life and are the second most common causal agent of work-related absenteeism, behind the common cold.
Women
It happens to a greater extent in women than in men, and it starts before the age of 35 in just about 50 percent of people. Men and women appear to record response to psychological and visceral (referring to the internal organs) stimulus in different areas of the brain. For unidentified reasons IBS affects about twice as many women as men and begins most ordinarily in young adulthood, sometimes in adolescence. Instead it seems to be due to conflicts in how women and men process sensations from the intestines, both in the intestinal nervous system ( enteric nervous sytem) as well as the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system).
Conclusion
Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS is not just bothersome. It also causes enormous health damage. It can result in malnutrition and obesity or even weight instability. It will increase toxic content in your body. It will even damage the beauty of your skin and hair. To have a good life and beautiful body, you need to take care of your gastrointestinal health first.
By: Winfred Jennings
About the Author:
Winfred is the webmaster of Advancesinhealth.com. Find Cutting Edge Irritable Bowel Syndrome, relief. Providing Health And Wellness Products (at) advancesinhealth.com .
What is Irritable Bowel Syndrome
June 30, 2009 by Admin
Filed under Irritable Bowel Syndrome
IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) is such a nebulous condition it can be difficult to identify as a distinct illness at all. The most common symptoms are abdominal cramping, bloating and gas, and diarrhea or constipation. With such normal signs as that – which can occur with dozens of other, more serious conditions – it can be hard to diagnose IBS.
Yet, physicians and researchers regard this syndrome as among the most common disorders and often distinguish it as much by what it is not, or by the absence of signs of other diseases. Unlike more serious ailments, like Crohn’s or colitis for example, IBS does not produce inflammation of the colon. Neither does it increase the odds of colorectal cancer, as those diseases can.
Because the symptoms themselves are so varied – indeed sometimes contradictory, such as alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhea – it is difficult to narrow down the presence of IBS. However, it is a chronic condition – occasional cramping or gas is completely normal and doesn’t merit a special name – and so it receives a specific tag.
As semi-digested food (called “chyme”) moves into the colon, where water is extracted and helpful bacteria create vitamins B and K, the intestinal muscles contract to keep it going. We’re normally not aware of that contraction, called peristalsis. In IBS, those contractions can be spasmodic and stronger than normal, causing food to move too quickly or too slowly. The first often leads to diarrhea, the second to constipation.
There is research to suggest that some individuals are hypersensitive to that movement. They sense more clearly the stretching of the bowel produced by gas or bloating. That can lead to stress that tends to amplify the ill effects. Since women are more prone to IBS, some studies believe that hormones play a role, as well, particularly since symptoms often worsen during the menstrual period.
Since diet plays a role – some experience IBS after consuming chocolate, milk, or alcohol – it is possible to modify the symptoms in some cases. Reducing intake is an obvious method, but diet alterations help, too. Eating yogurt, for example, which contains organisms that break down lactose sugars, can help counter the effects of drinking milk for those who are lactose intolerant.
Controlling stress is often more difficult than simply an act of will. Education and counseling can provide techniques to reduce the anxiety and feeling of being overwhelmed that are typical of the condition. That often leads to a reduction or even elimination of the symptoms of IBS.
Nearly one in five American adults are believed to suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome yet, because it is so easy to confuse with normal stomach upsets, fewer than half seek professional diagnosis and treatment. The condition itself is not particularly serious and certainly not life threatening. But the overlap in many of the symptoms warrant a visit to the physician if they persist. That will help individuals discover if a more serious underlying condition is at fault.
