Abdominal pain, Constipation, diarrhea are the typical symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome Which affect people’s everyday lives and can cause distress. The typical symptoms of IBS are constant stomach or lower abdominal pain, abdominal cramps as well as a change in the consistency of the stool. It tends to cause constipation in women and diarrhea in men, but both sexes can have either form. Some people may have both diarrhea and constipation. Feeling very full, flatulence (gas) or mucous discharge may also be signs of IBS. These symptoms often go away on their own over time, but they can return after a while.
IBS mostly affects the large intestine. This is where the last phase of digestion takes place. The muscles of the large intestine move the food mass, which is still quite soft at first, slowly but steadily forward through the digestive tract. Extra water is taken out, and the indigestible food mass thickens to form stool.
If the intestinal muscles move the food mass through the intestine too quickly, the food mass does not lose enough water and people get diarrhea. If, on the other hand, they transport the food mass too slowly, people might get constipation. If the intestinal muscles contract violently, they might cause painful cramps.
causes of IBS is oversensitive nerves in the intestine, intestinal muscle disorders and inflammations of the intestinal wall could all play a role. A genetic predisposition may also play a role. Psychological stress, dietary habits and food intolerances are thought to be possible triggers too.
These could be signs of ulcerative colitis or crohn’s I disease. Common recommendations include dietary changes or getting exercise. But most of this advice has not been tested in high-quality studies. Something that helps one person may end up making things worse for someone else. This means that trial and error is often the only way to see if something works.
Most people who have a milder form of IBS cope well with it. Yet for some the symptoms are so strong that their quality of life is severely affected. People often describe the feeling of losing control of their own body because they never know exactly when they will need to go to the toilet. This can make daily activities very difficult, for instance because people’s meals and appointments have to be carefully coordinated.
