Also called IBS, it’s a group of symptoms

What is it?
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a disorder of the lower intestinal tract. This disorder involves abdominal pain and abnormal bowel movements. Emotional stress often makes the symptoms worse.

According to Google Health it is not the same as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Symptoms

Symptoms range from mild to severe. Most people have mild symptoms. IBS symptoms may be worse in people who also suffer from stress or mood disorders, such as anxiety and depression. However, it is important to understand that these conditions are not a cause of IBS.

With IBS, ordinary things cause your colon to overreact and spasm.  These spasms can delay your stool, resulting in constipation, or the spasms may speed things up, resulting in diarrhea.  IBS is not a life-threatening disease, but it certainly causes discomfort and can have a negative impact on your quality of life.

Symptoms may include:

• Abdominal distention
• Abdominal fullness, gas, bloating
• Abdominal pain that:
  • Comes and goes
  • Is reduced or goes away after a bowel movement
  • Occurs after meals
• Chronic and frequent constipation, usually accompanied by pain
• Chronic and frequent diarrhea, usually accompanied by pain
• Emotional distress
• Depression
• Loss of appetite

When to contact a doctor
Call your health care provider if you have symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome or if you notice a persistent change in your bowel habits.

Possible causes
There are many possible causes. For example, there may be a problem with muscle movement in the intestine or a lower tolerance for stretching and movement of the intestine.

Solutions

See your doctor about medical treatment.  From a naturalist’s standpoint, we recommend the following:

• Consume more fiber
  If you don’t eat enough fiber, your digestive system can’t move food along fast enough and it hardens and ferments leading to smelly gas.
• Get good bacteria:
  If you don’t have enough good bacteria in your gut (upper intestine), then you just aren’t going to digest food properly, and that can cause putrification of the food slowly going through your body.  You want to add good bacteria such as you would get with yogurt that has active cultures.  Also add probiotics as a supplement.  Acidophilus and lactobacillus are probiotics that can be found in capsule form.
• Sleep soundly the full night through
  New research shows that your IBS can be worse if you don’t get enough sleep.  If one study, women with IBS reported worse symptoms following even one night of poor rest.  Please read our articles on solving insomnia for some sleep solutions.
• Stress less
  Negative emotions, such as anger, sadness and anxiety, can make IBS symptoms worse.  Flare-ups are more likely when you’re under stress.  Please read our articles on handling Stress and see if those answers don’t help your IBS.
• Sugar
  Many people with bowel disorders have trouble absorbing lactose, fructose or sorbitol.  Lactose is the sugar found in milk, fructose occurs naturally in fruit, corn syrup, and honey.  Sorbitol, found in certain berries, is used as a sweetener in many foods.
• Trash the sweets
  Try eliminating these sweets and see if you feel better.  If you do, that may be your problem.

Peppermint tea as a home remedy
It can’t cure the underlying disorder, but peppermint tea will soothe an upset stomach.  Pour one cup of boiling water over a heaping tablespoon of peppermint tea leaves and steep for five minutes.  Drink a cup of this tea between meals, but no more than four cups a day.

Herbalists say menthol oil in the tea is responsible for the tummy-soothing effect.  But don’t give it to young children, because menthol can give them a choking feeling.

Resource Center:

• Google Health
• Mayo Clinic
• Medline Plus
• WebMD

Popularity: 10% [?]