Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) impacts the large intestines, resulting in constipation or diarrhea. Stress and diet management help control minor symptoms, while medicine and counseling treat severe symptoms. Here are a few frequently asked questions about IBS:
What Is IBS?
IBS is a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by bloating, abdominal pain, and bowel habit changes. Its symptoms include changes in stool appearance and changes in bowel movement frequency. Other symptoms involve constipation, diarrhea, or mixed bowel habits. For IBS with constipation, most of your stool is lumpy and hard. Irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea comprises loose and watery stool during symptom flare-ups. Your doctor offers treatments based on the type of IBS and symptom severity. They recommend dietary and lifestyle changes, probiotics, medicines, and other therapies.
What Triggers This Condition?
Intestinal muscle contractions, severe infection, and gut microbe changes can trigger irritable bowel syndrome. Strong and prolonged intestinal contractions cause bloating, gas, and diarrhea. Weak contractions slow food passage, creating hard, dry stools.
Irritable bowel syndrome can develop after severe diarrhea caused by a virus or bacteria. Its trigger is associated with an intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Issues with the digestive system’s nerves result in abdomen stretching. Poor intestinal-brain signal coordination makes the body overreact to digestive changes.
What Are the Symptoms?
Irritable bowel syndrome symptoms can be severe or mild, causing pain and discomfort. An individual may experience cramping in the lower abdomen. Abdominal pain becomes relieved after a bowel movement and gets triggered by food intake. The condition makes you experience a feeling of fullness accompanied by excessive gas production.
Flare-ups cause the abdomen to swell up and feel distended. The presence of mucus in stool indicates intestinal irritation. Patients may also feel a sensation of incomplete evacuation after a bowel movement. Straining to defecate further triggers constipation and other issues. Other accompanying non-gastrointestinal symptoms include headaches, fatigue, and sleep disturbance.
Is There an IBS Diet?
Your doctor will recommend dietary changes to manage symptoms. IBS-management diets include gluten-free, high-fiber, and low-FODMAP foods. The low-FODMAP diet stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols. These are sugar molecules linked together in a chain, fermentable by the gut bacteria. A low-FODMAP diet restricts carbohydrates and helps remove irritants in your gut lining. It consists of an elimination, reintroduction, and maintenance phase customized to suit your needs. Gluten-free diets may also help calm digestive tract sensitivity in people with irritable bowel syndrome. Fiber adds bulk to your stool and makes it soft to ease bowel movement.
How Is It Diagnosed?
Your doctor diagnoses irritable bowel syndrome through medical history and symptom evaluation. They base your diagnosis on established criteria and physical examinations. Your doctor assesses recurrent abdominal pain, as this should be accompanied by relief with defecation and a change in stool appearance. During a physical examination, your doctor also looks for signs of other gastrointestinal issues.
Learn More About IBS
Doctors provide dietary recommendations and medicines to treat IBS symptoms. During diagnosis, they perform various tests to isolate other gastrointestinal conditions. Contact a reputable gastroenterologist to learn more about their IBS treatments.
