![\"IBS](\"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IBS_food-movement-200x434-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIBS is just about the most common disorder of the digestive system and\u00a0up to one-third of the population experience symptoms from time to time.\u00a0It is one of the most common reasons for a visit to the GP. Women are\u00a0slightly more affected than men and the usual age for patients to seek\u00a0advice is between 20 and 40 years. As many as one in eight people have\u00a0symptoms of IBS at any one time.<\/p>\n
During digestion, the intestine squeezes its contents along our insides towards the anus. This process (peristalsis) is usually painless and we do not realise that it is happening unless there is an abnormal squeeze within the bowel or,\u00a0for some reason, the intestine becomes more sensitive. These changes can be quite painful. In addition, patients\u00a0with IBS seem to have greater sensitivity to the way that\u00a0their intestines are moving, meaning they feel pain more\u00a0easily.<\/p>\n
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How food (food bolus) moves along the gut.<\/p>\n
We do not think that IBS has a single cause and there\u00a0is a wide variety of reasons why patients develop the\u00a0condition. There does not seem to be a genetic cause, and\u00a0the single most common trigger to the start of symptoms\u00a0is following a bout of food poisoning or gastroenteritis. Although the cause is not clear, there are many factors\u00a0that can provoke symptoms. Some people find that stress\u00a0makes their symptoms worse. In some people, eating irregularly or eating an abnormal diet may be responsible.\u00a0Some drugs, particularly when taken long term for chronic\u00a0conditions, can cause IBS type symptoms such as diarrhoea.\u00a0Overall, there seems to be some interaction between the\u00a0nervous system in the gut and brain, emotional state and the\u00a0immune system of the gut.<\/p>\n
Approximately one third of IBS patients suffer from bouts of constipation, one third suffer from bouts of diarrhoea and most other patients don\u2019t fall into a single pattern. The form of IBS that seems to follow gastroenteritis often leads to the diarrhoea type. Identifying these different types of IBS is important because treatments often work quite differently depending upon whether diarrhoea or constipation is the main problem. However, we do know that the pattern of bowel movements can alter over time and this means that your treatment might need to change should your symptoms vary.<\/p>\n
These symptoms are not usually associated with IBS but may be associated\u00a0with other diseases. If you experience any of these you should see your\u00a0doctor as soon as possible:<\/p>\n
The need to see a doctor is especially important if there is a family history of bowel disease (such as cancer, colitis or Crohn\u2019s disease).<\/p>\n
The GP will want to rule out other diseases but will probably be able\u00a0to make a diagnosis based on the described symptoms. Sometimes IBS\u00a0symptoms can be caused by drugs you are taking for other conditions.\u00a0It may be worth discussing this with your doctor to see if a drug switch\u00a0can be made. Further tests may include blood tests, which will be used to assess
\nthe following:<\/p>\n
Faecal Calprotectin<\/strong>: this is a stool test increasingly used both to look for infection and to help exclude other bowel diseases.<\/p>\n if a dietary cause is suspected the GP can give advice on what to eat or may refer you to a dietitian. The dietitian will try to identify any foods that cause your IBS symptoms (trigger food). This\u00a0may involve leaving out particular sorts of foods from the diet, to see\u00a0whether these symptoms improve.\u00a0The dietitian may suggest an \u2018exclusion diet\u2019, which will exclude a number of common \u2018trigger\u2019 foods from your diet. A particular form of this is\u00a0the low FODMAP diet. If symptoms improve, individual items can then\u00a0be added back into the diet until the specific trigger food or foods are\u00a0identified.<\/p>\n If constipation is a symptom, then bulking agents such as natural bran,\u00a0bran-containing cereals and ispaghula husk (a natural laxative) are helpful.\u00a0But some laxatives (like fibre or senna), whilst helping with constipation,\u00a0may make pain a little worse.<\/p>\n Drugs to reduce bowel spasm have been used for many years. They are generally very safe and often worth trying. Most are available without a prescription and the pharmacist can advise. Unfortunately, they only benefit a relatively small number of patients.<\/p>\n Laxatives can be prescribed for constipation by your GP or from the\u00a0pharmacist whilst some patients benefit from treatment with peppermint\u00a0oil or other over-the-counter medicines.<\/p>\n Some patients find probiotics very helpful, but there is no specific\u00a0prescribed preparation. It is rather a question of trial and error.<\/p>\n Sometimes when pain is a major problem, small doses of drugs, which are\u00a0used as antidepressants, such as amitriptyline, can be helpful. These can\u00a0be useful in patients who have no signs of depression. There are also new classes of drugs that may be used if simpler treatments do not succeed.<\/p>\n New drugs are being developed, some of which may help patients whose\u00a0main symptom is diarrhoea and others who tend to be constipated.\u00a0Some of these newer agents are not yet available to doctors to prescribe but it does seem likely that a wider range of treatments will be available to patients with IBS in the near future.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a condition where good self-management can make a huge difference to the symptoms experienced:<\/p>\n These are some useful questions you can ask your doctor:<\/p>\n The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) provide\u00a0guidelines<\/a>\u00a0that doctors can follow when diagnosing and treating people with IBS.<\/p>\n NICE also produce Quality Standards for IBS and these standards show what good service provision should look like. There are four standards currently:<\/p>\n This information was originally published\u00a0HERE<\/a> and for more support on this condition please visit\u00a0Guts UK<\/a><\/p>\nWhat treatment is available for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)?<\/h3>\n
Dietary Management<\/h3>\n
Drug therapy<\/h3>\n
What other treatments are available?<\/h3>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/IBS_2-e1531827848201.png\")
<\/p>\nHow can I self-manage my irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)?<\/h3>\n
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What to ask your doctor?<\/h3>\n
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\nfor me to take?<\/li>\n\n