IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a mixture of abdominal symptoms for which there's no apparent cause. Symptoms include constipation, diarrhoea, bloating and abdominal pain.

It is a very common with estimates suggest that as many as 20% of adults in the UK have IBS at any one time. IBS is more common in women. In the UK about 13 per cent of women and 5 per cent of men have IBS.

IBS is where the normal gut movement that propels the food through the gut changes. The best way to regard IBS is as a loss of coordination of these muscular contractions.

In addition, there's evidence that people with IBS have increased sensitivity within the gut to external stimuli, such as stress. This means IBS is often the outcome of a complex interaction between psychological and physical factors.

Causes of irritable bowel syndrome?

The causes of IBS is largely unknown. However some interesting figures are:

• 50% of people suffering with IBS started their symptoms after a major life event – such as change of house or job, or bereavement. This suggests that there may be a psychological trigger for IBS.
• About 10 to 20 % of people will date the start of their symptoms to an acute gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach that causes vomiting and diarrhoea).
• In the remainder of cases, the trigger factor remains unknown.

What are the symptoms of IBS?

Although IBS can be a distressing condition, it never causes bowel cancer or bowel damage. IBS symptoms can start at any age, but they are most common in late teenage years or early adulthood.

The five most common symptoms are:

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• constipation
• abdominal pain
• wind / flatulence
• bloating that usually subsides overnight and returns the following day
• diarrhoea.

Your symptoms will depend on which parts of the gut are involved.

Self Help steps to prevent Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Since the cause of IBS is unknown, it's not possible to reliably prevent symptoms.
The following strategies can help your digestive system and so may improve the condition.

• Drink lots of water, preferably two litres a day (non-sparkling).
• A high-fibre diet improves digestion. The amount of fibre must be increased gradually to allow the stomach to get used to it.
• Avoid food or drinks that make the symptoms worse. Coffee and milk are frequent offenders.
• It may be helpful to keep a diary in which you note down the foods that seem to upset your stomach.
• Avoid strong spices and foods that give you wind.
• Avoid large meals, but eat regularly.
• Limit your alcohol intake.

What else can improve IBS?

• Physical activity and exercise can improve digestion and reduce stress.
• Treatment that can help to address some of the causes such as counselling.
• Heat treatment with hot packs, hot-water bottles or electric blankets may relieve stomach pain.
• Try to reduce the amount of stress in your life. You might like to experiment with some of the different relaxation techniques, such as meditation. 
• Try to keep things in perspective: excessive worrying about digestive problems could lead to social and psychological problems.

Which medicines are used?

There is no single treatment to tackle all symptoms of IBS, although several types of serotonin antagonists are under trial, some with encouraging results.  Medicines can relieve specific symptoms of IBS, depending on which is giving you most trouble. But by controlling some symptoms, a medicine may make others worse.

• Medicines called antispasmodics can relieve stomach cramps.
• If constipation is a major problem, bulk laxatives
• Medicines can treat gas and stomach rumbling in cases where these are a major problem.
• Antidiarrhoeal medication used for diarrhoea.
• Tricyclic antidepressants are sometimes used to relieve pain in people who have not responded to other treatments.

Long-term outlook

IBS usually occurs periodically throughout life BUT it is not a life-threatening.

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