Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a commonly occurring gastrointestinal illness that affects the large intestine. It is a collection of symptoms affecting your digestive system. It is a gastrointestinal problem that you can acquire easily but is exceptionally inconvenient to deal with.

IBS symptoms and indicators vary, but they typically last a long time. Among the most common are:

• Pain, cramping or bloating in the abdomen caused by a bowel movement
• Changes in bowel movement appearance
• Changes in the frequency with which you have bowel movements

Other typically connected symptoms include bloating, gas, and mucus in the stool.

Although the exact cause of IBS has not yet been found, experts believe that several factors tend to play a role in it. Such factors include:

The intestines' walls are known to be lined with layers of muscle—these layers of muscle contract as a part of the process of moving food through the digestive tract. So, when such contractions are stronger and last longer than usual, they can lead to gas, bloating, and diarrhoea. Furthermore, weak intestinal contractions tend to slow down food passage, leading to hard, dry stools.

Similarly, when there are abnormalities in the nerves of your digestive system, that may cause you to experience a type of discomfort that is significantly worse than usual. Moreover, the discomfort increases when your abdomen stretches due to gas or stool. Since poorly coordinated signals occur between the brain and the intestines, it can cause your body to overreact to changes that typically happen during the digestive process. This overreaction results in agony, diarrhoea or constipation.

Severe Case of Diarrhea

One can develop IBS following a severe case of diarrhoea (gastroenteritis) caused by bacteria or a virus. In addition to this, IBS might also be related to a surplus of bacteria in the intestines (bacterial overgrowth).

Stressful Events

People can develop symptoms of IBS when exposed to stressful events early on in their life.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a condition that can be treated with dietary and lifestyle changes, medicines, probiotics, and mental health therapy. You may need to try different therapies to find the one that works best for you. Your doctor can help in determining the best course of action.

Changes in your diet may aid in the treatment of your symptoms. Your doctor might suggest one of the following adjustments:

• Avoid gluten in your diet
• Eat more fibre food
• Follow the low FODMAP diet, which is a particular eating regimen.

The purpose of IBS treatment is to alleviate your symptoms. Therefore, your treatment plan may be determined by the nature and severity of your symptoms.

IBS treatment aims to alleviate symptoms to live as normally as possible. How successful the treatment mainly depends on understanding what IBS is and how it is treated. Unfortunately, IBS does not have a permanent cure. But there are many different treatments and options to reduce or eliminate the symptoms.

Researchers suggest that the following can treat IBS:

Dietary changes:

Dietary changes may help with bloating, stomach pain, and diarrhoea. Caffeine and fatty foods, for example, induce colonic contractions, a major symptom of IBS. Hence, limiting one's regular intake of caffeinated beverages and rich foods may help someone with IBS and diarrhoea.

Those who suffer from bloating and abdominal pain may benefit from consuming fewer carbs poorly digested in the small intestine. Foods high in lactose, fructose, and sorbitol, for example, may increase intestinal gas production, resulting in increased bloating, diarrhoea, and stomach pain in those with IBS. This is why it is always recommended to work with a nutritionist. It is crucial to get all the right nutrients no matter what diet you are on.

Medications:

Your doctor may prescribe several medicines that can treat IBS. You can find these medications on Click Pharmacy. These include:

• Smooth muscle relaxants: These are the most effective for treating or avoiding intestinal cramps
• Antidiarrheal drugs: Antidiarrheal medications lessen the frequency of bowel movements and improve the consistency of the stool in people who have diarrhoea.
• Laxatives: Patients who have constipation as their primary complaint should take laxatives.
• Antibiotics: To change the gut flora makeup, which could be causing the fermentation of poorly digested carbohydrates.
• Low-dose antidepressants: If pain and diarrhoea are your main symptoms, you might benefit from these medications, focusing on the gut's neural system to make it less reactive to meals and emotional stress.

Stress:

Taking steps to reduce the stress levels in your life can help reduce the frequency and severity of your IBS symptoms. Our physical health often declines when our mental health is in bad shape. You can work on preventing this by meditating, doing physical activities, and doing regular exercise. You also need to take proper sleep for better results.

Probiotics:

Your doctor may also recommend probiotics. Probiotics are live microorganisms, most commonly bacteria, identical to the organisms found in your digestive system. The use of probiotics to treat IBS is still being researched.

Consult your doctor before using probiotics or any other complementary or alternative NIH external link drugs or practices. If your doctor suggests probiotics, talk to them about how much and for how long you should take them.

Mental health therapies: 

To aid with IBS symptoms, your doctor may suggest mental health therapies. IBS is treated with a variety of therapies such as:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy focuses on helping you change the thought and behaviour patterns to improve your IBS symptoms
• Gut-directed hypnotherapy is when a therapist uses hypnosis (a trance-like condition in which you are relaxed or focused) to help with IBS symptoms.
• Relaxation training can help you relax your muscles and reduce stress

The treatment includes some tests at the diagnosis and then the medications and dietary modifications. So, there is nothing unsafe about it. All the diet prescribed by your doctor is always healthy and help with your IBS disorder. All these treatments have gone through clinical trials and have been deemed safe and effective.

With everything being online, you can also get online consultation for IBS treatment! You can look up the treatments on Click Pharmacy. You can also speak to our healthcare expert. They can provide you with a diagnosis and treatment plan, including nutritional advice and any necessary medication.

How well your treatment goes depends on how strictly you follow it. It can usually take a few days or sometimes a week until you get rid of the symptoms. Remember that IBS symptoms can be triggered by various factors like specific meals, medications, gas or stool, and emotional stress. You'll need to figure out what triggers you and then discuss it with your doctor so he can prescribe you the solution for the quick recovery.

Some of the medications of IBS can cause a few side effects, which can include:

• Nausea
• Abdominal pain
• Mild constipation
• Dry mouth
• Drowsiness
• Fatigue

Always read the patient information leaflet before starting your treatment. Remember to follow your doctor's instructions when using medicine to treat IBS. Consult your doctor about the possible side effects and what to do if you have them.