The condition involves a long-term disturbed bowel habit – such as constipation or diarrhoea and abdominal discomfort or pain.
While it mainly affects younger people, and is slightly more common in women than men, IBS can affect people young and old, male and female.
With the fast pace of modern life – and the stresses this brings with it – Western counties have seen an increase in the number of young people with IBS.
'Our lifestyles are changing, and figures appear to show that medically unexplained conditions like IBS – along with chronic fatigue, unexplained backache and breathlessness – have increased,' says Dr Nick Read, consultant gastroenterologist, psychotherapist, and acting chairman of the Gut Trust, the UK charity that supports people with IBS.
'Now somewhere around 15 per cent of the population have symptoms identifiable as IBS,' he says.
Although there's no simple cure for IBS, there's plenty you can do to make the condition more manageable.
Causes
There are a number of factors that can lead to IBS. But experts agree that the major cause is stress – followed by diet and infections, such as gastroenteritis.'I would say 95 per cent is down to stress, alongside other causes that play a smaller role,' says Dr Read.
'When you see patients, you understand that IBS is an expression of things going on in their life – major events or life stresses – such as people losing jobs, retirement, divorce, childbirth, and other relationship related problems,' he says.
Symptoms
It's important to remember that IBS is an unexplained disorder, and so many of the symptoms are common to other complaints of the intestines – such as colitis, infections in the rectum, or even haemorrhoids.
But the main symptoms, which should be long term rather than acute (6 months according to a report by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence), can include:
But the main symptoms, which should be long term rather than acute (6 months according to a report by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence), can include:
- abdominal discomfort, such as distention or pain
- sensation of lower abdominal pain
- passage of mucus
- bloating
- condition made worse by eating
- change in bowel habits, without an obvious cause such as illness or infection.
- tiredness
- indigestion
- nausea
- anxiety and depression
- backache
- bladder irritability
Know the cause
'It's important for someone with IBS – as well as their GP – to ask a few questions.- What was going on when the IBS started?
- When does the condition come and go?
- What do the symptoms remind you of?
Over-the-counter medicines
However, medicines are often a bit 'trial-and-error' – they can give support, but they're not the whole answer.
Antidepressants
In the short term, antidepressants such as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can help in low doses. These will be prescribed by your doctor.'In the long term, I worry that these drugs will stop people making the lifestyle changes that will help them improve their condition properly,' says Dr Read.
'But as a short term solution, they can be useful,' he says.
Alternative treatments
So, the key thing is to find things that will help them relax. This might simply be making more time for rest and relaxation, or undertaking alternative therapies – such as meditation, hypnotherapy, reiki, acupuncture – or touch therapies, such as massage.
These treatments have a certain 'healing effect', and they can help increase people's confidence and belief that they can manage their condition.
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