IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME (IBS)
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder characterized by abdominal pain or discomfort and altered bowel habits in the absence of detectable structural abnormalities. IBS symptoms tend to come and go over time and often overlap with other functional disorders such as fibromyalgia, headache, backache, and genitourinary symptoms.
CAUSES
- Foods or beverages, including wheat, dairy products, citrus fruits, beans, cabbage, milk and carbonated drinks.
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- A history of sexual, physical or emotional abuse also might be a risk factor.
- Family history of IBS.
- Hormones- many women find that signs and symptoms are worse during or around their menstrual periods.
CLINICAL FEATURES
1.ABDOMINAL PAIN
Abdominal pain in IBS is highly variable in intensity and location. It is frequently episodic and crampy, but it may be superimposed on a background of constant ache. Pain is often exacerbated by eating or emotional stress and improved by passage of flatus or stools.
Female patients with IBS commonly report worsening symptoms during the premenstrual and menstrual phases.
2.ALTERED BOWEL HABITS
The most common pattern is constipation alternating with diarrhea
Stools are usually hard with narrowed caliber, possibly reflecting excessive dehydration caused by prolonged colonic retention and spasm. Most patients also experience a sense of incomplete evacuation, thus leading to repeated attempts at defecation in a short time span.
In other patients, diarrhea may be the predominant symptom. Diarrhea resulting from IBS usually consists of small volumes of loose stools. Diarrhea may be aggravated by emotional stress or eating. Stool may be accompanied by passage of large amounts of mucus.
3.GAS AND FLATULENCE
Patients with IBS frequently complain of abdominal distention and increased belching or flatulence
4.UPPER GI SYMPTOMS
Between 25 and 50% of patients with IBS complain of dyspepsia, heartburn, nausea, and vomiting.
PREVENTION
- Avoid wheat
- Avoid dairy products
- Avoid citrus fruits
- Avoid beans
- Avoid cabbage
- Avoid milk
- Avoid carbonated drinks
- Regular exercise
- Avoid pain killer
- Eat organic food
- Avoid pesticides, chemical fertilizer
- Regular exercise
- Reduce your stress,emotion,depression
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
- GI Motor Abnormalities-IBS patients may exhibit increased rectosigmoid motor activity for up to 3 h after eating.
- Visceral Hypersensitivity-IBS patients frequently exhibit exaggerated sensory responses to visceral stimulation. Postprandial pain has been temporally related to entry of the food bolus into the cecum
- Abnormal Psychological Features-An association between prior sexual or physical abuse and development of IBS has been reported. Psychological stress and anxiety can increase the release of proinflammatory cytokine, and this in turn may alter intestinal permeability.
- Postinfectious IBS-IBS patients experienced an acute “gastroenteritis-like” illness at the onset of their chronic IBS symptomatology. This group of “postinfective” IBS occurs more commonly in females and affects younger rather than older patients. Risk factors for developing postinfectious IBS include, in order of importance, prolonged duration of initial illness, toxicity of infecting bacterial strain, smoking, mucosal markers of inflammation, female sex, depression, hypochondriasis, and adverse life events in the preceding 3 months.
- Immune Activation and Mucosal Inflammation -Some patients with IBS display persistent signs of low-grade mucosal inflammation with activated lymphocytes, mast cells, and enhanced expression of proinflammatory cytokines.
- Altered Gut Flora– IBS patients had decreased proportions of the genera Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus.
TREATMENT
HOMEOPATHY MEDICINE