Irritable Bowel Syndrome Essay

Don’t let your bowels irritate you.
Dr Aisha Bhaiyat
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS for short) is a very common gut disorder. Most people who suffer from this have often had many tests done that have come back as normal. In this condition, there is no physical abnormality of the bowels. Rather, IBS is known to be a disorder of how your bowels work. Although there is no treatment for IBS, the symptoms can be controlled.
The symptoms of IBS are varied ranging from stomach pain, bloating, flatus, constipation or diarrhea. As IBS can only be diagnosed after certain other diseases have been ruled out, it is important that you consult with your doctor if you do have any of these symptoms. Passing blood is not a symptom of IBS, and if you are passing blood from the back passage, it is important to see a doctor urgently.

To complicate matters, the activity of the bowels is affected by various things. Nerves connect the brain to the bowels and can hence have an effect. Stress and emotional upset can affect how the bowels function via these nerves. This can turn into a vicious circle whereby stress results in worsening IBS; and the worsened IBS leads to increased stress over the situation. Combatting stress can often help to improve IBS.
Diet can also have an effect on the symptoms of IBS. Eating regular meals at a leisurely pace and not missing meals can help. Certain foods are known to improve IBS such as soluble fiber. Others can worsen the symptoms. Fibre which is soluble in water, such as oats, can improve the symptoms of IBS. Conversely, insoluble fibre such as wheat can worsen symptoms. Some foods contain a mixture of soluble and insoluble fibre such as plums. The flesh of plum has soluble fibre whereas the fibre in the skin is insoluble. Peeling a plum can prevent IBS symptom from