You can find a list of standard options for treating your condition on our IBS treatments page. This will not only help your doctor make a diagnosis but it may also highlight an underlying problem causing the symptoms. Take note of what brings the symptoms on and what eases it, what you can eat and when, how to regulate your bowel and your life and what medications can help.īefore seeing your GP about your symptoms, it is useful to keep a bowel diary for a week or so before your appointment to record things such as how many times you go to the toilet, any accidents you have and what you eat or drink. If you have IBS, take the time to understand your own condition. Self-care is now recognised as a vital element in the management of IBS. They will often prescribe medications to reduce abdominal spasm and regulate the bowels, though a small daily dose of antidepressant can ease the condition. Irritable Bowel Syndrome should always be diagnosed by a healthcare professional, who will screen for other conditions (coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease) that may give the same symptoms. It can also play a large part in making the gut very sensitive and reactive. Released from specific cells in the gut wall, such as mast cells and enterochromaffin cells, Serotonin is a response to any aspect that can irritate or aggravate the gut. IBS can occur to anyone at any stage in their life but commonly the condition starts in early adulthood and can come and go depending on what is happening.Įmotional stress can sensitise the gut making it more likely to react to its contents. There is a strong correlation between emotional stress and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Taking a probiotic drink daily may help to calm and regulate your bowels.Ī small group of people develop IBS following a bout of gastroenteritis, which might make the gut more sensitive. Since emotional stress can make the bowel sensitive, intolerances can come and go depending on how you feel. Drinking a lot of milk may also cause bloating and loose motions in people with IBS. These include fatty foods, coffee, hot spices, some fruits and vegetables and cereal fibre. Nevertheless, foods that tend to stimulate the gut are more likely to trigger symptoms. People with the condition can be intolerant to a range of common foods, suggesting that it’s not so much the actual food that’s the problem, but the sensitive gut overreacting to its contents. Symptoms of IBS are often triggered by a meal, but only very rarely due to a specific food allergy. Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects about 1 in 5 of the UK population, and most of these are Women – Dr Dawn Harper, GP Sensitivity to Food The sensitivity may be mediated by a chemical transmitter called serotonin. There is no definitive cause of IBS but the bowel is often more sensitive and reactive to changes in food and mood. Factors that seem to make the gut more sensitive include troubling life events or situations and a bout of gastroenteritis. Kindly reproduced with permission from Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. The below webinar contains an overview of what to do once you have been diagnosed, and you’ll find more information on this topic below. People with IBS can also experience a variety of other unexplained symptoms including tiredness, backache, bladder frequency, indigestion, headaches, depression and anxiety.
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