Irritable Bowel Syndrome Fact
Sheet
What is it?
Irritable bowel syndrome,
or IBS, is a condition resulting in abdominal cramping, bloating, flatulence,
and often diarrhoea.
What is going on in the body?
Stimulation
of muscles around the bowels normally causes contraction that move food along
the bowels. In IBS, the body appears
to be more sensitive to this stimulation leading to an over reaction of the
bowel.
Symptoms
of irritable bowel syndrome may include:
What are the causes?
It is not
entirely clear what causes IBS. Stress, anxiety and a fatty diet, have all been
implicated. Other factors include hormonal changes such as in female
menstruation and exercise.
What can be done about
it?
Since
the cause of irritable bowel syndrome is not clear, it may be difficult to
prevent. The following steps may help; eating a low fat diet, avoiding gas-producing
foods, and food that irritable the bowels such as beans, caffeine, spicy food
and alcohol, reducing or manage stress and anxiety.
How
is the condition diagnosed?
The
diagnosis of IBS, is usually made from the patient’s history and examination
and by excluding other causes. No one test can give you a diagnosis but they
are used to exclude other conditions.
What are the long-term
effects of the condition?
Irritable
bowel syndrome does not appear to damage the stomach or intestines.
What are the treatments
for the condition?
Treatment
often focuses on treating the symptoms and preventing flare-ups. This may
include; low fat and high fibre diet, smaller, more frequent meals, antidepressants
may be helpful, antispasmodic and other medications to relieve
bowel symptoms, cognitive, behavioural therapy.