IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome
There are a number of diseases in our society that are common, but due to vague symptoms and a lack of knowledge, they are usually ignored. Irritable bowel syndrome is a name that is not unheard off, however, sadly not many know what it really is. This is the reason why many people fail to identify it and seek proper treatment till the disease progresses to an advanced stage. Here we tell you what this disease is and the symptoms and causes of this disorder, which will help you how to avoid and treat this condition.
So, what is irritable bowel syndrome?
Basically, this is a condition which involves inflammation of the gut lining. This results in a diverse array of symptoms, hence the name irritable bowel syndrome. However, the disease is different from ulcerative colitis and Chron’s disease and does not produce derangements in the architecture of the gut lining. Instead, the lining is simply irritated and hyper excitatory, which is responsible for the symptoms of this disease. It commonly affects the large intestine, producing a range of gut symptoms.
What are the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome?
The precise symptoms vary with different people, which makes this disorder difficult to diagnose. Some of the common symptoms include:
Abdominal cramps
Diarrhea, or constipation and sometimes alternating symptoms.
Mucus in stool
Gas
A bloated feeling
The differentiating point is that, in irritable bowel syndrome, these symptoms are chronic and last for a long time. The severity may change and there may even be times when they completely disappear, but without proper treatment, the signs and symptoms return. These symptoms can exaggerate into signs that indicate a worsening problem and signal immediate medical help. These signs include bleeding in the stool, weight loss, and an abdominal pain that occurs at night.
What causes irritable bowel syndrome?
Now that you know the symptoms of this disease, it is important that you know its cause as well. This will help you avoid the many factors that could exaggerate the disease.
Foods- certain kinds of food, especially those that are known to cause allergies can resulting irritable bowel syndrome. These include chocolates, beans, spices, cabbage, milk and carbonated drinks.
Stress- another common cause of the syndrome is chronic stress. Stress results in the release of epinephrine that hyper sensitizes the gut and can result in an exaggeration of the symptoms.
Hormones- studies suggest that women are more likely to have irritable bowel syndrome than men. Also, the severity of the disease worsens during menstrual periods which further highlights the condition.
Infections- certain bacterial infections can also cause and exaggerate symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. They hyperexcite the bowel lining resulting
in the manifestations of the disease.
The disease is treatable by vigilant therapy. However, prevention is better than cure and knowing the symptoms and causes of disease can help you avoid things that could cause the disease and identify it earlier for a more effective treatment.
