Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Treatment

IBS is a problem that affects the digestive system and causes diarrhoea, constipation, stomach cramps, bloating and an increased amount of gas. The symptoms tend to come and go, as opposed to being constant, and can often flare up because of certain foods or stress.

Even though the symptoms aren’t constant, the condition itself usually is and sufferers tend to notice it their whole lives. However, IBS is not life-threatening and does not increase your risk of developing other conditions of the colon (such as Crohn’s disease or colon cancer). While it may not put other aspects of your health in danger, the condition can have a big impact on your daily life. Sufferers of IBS often have to miss school or work, feel unable to partake in things such as sports or group activities and find travelling a worry.

If you are going to develop Irritable Bowel Syndrome, this will most likely be somewhere in between your late teens and early 40s, and it affects around 10% of the population.

The actual cause of IBS is still unknown, although it’s been linked to things such as food passing through your gut at the wrong rate, stress, oversensitivity in the nerves in your gut or a family history of the condition. Some studies suggest that it’s due to the colon being hypersensitive, so that the muscles spasm instead of producing slow rhythmic movements.

Another theory is that it’s all about the chemicals that the body makes, including serotonin and gastrin, and how they affect the signal between the digestive system and the brain. IBS is also more prevalent in women than men, leading some to think that hormones play a role (but no studies have backed this up so far).

Because the cause has proved hard to pinpoint, there is no specific test that a doctor can do to diagnose a sufferer with it, but because of the similarities in symptoms, they will first carry out tests to rule out conditions such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and coeliac disease.

IBS Treatment

Although there is no single treatment that works for everyone, nearly everybody with IBS can find a solution that works for them. They may not cure your Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but the reliable range of products at UK Meds can be trusted to treat it effectively, reduce your symptoms and allow you to go about your normal daily life.

A large part of living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and managing the condition is learning what your triggers are. These differ greatly from person to person and include everything from foods to medicines to emotional stress. Figuring out what these are and avoiding them as best you can, will ease your IBS symptoms significantly.

If you have IBS, regardless of what your triggers are, it’s also wise to be careful with your food. This means cooking homemade meals using fresh ingredients, avoiding spicy, fatty or highly processed foods, and being cautious with fresh fruit, tea and coffee.