Irritable bowel syndrome: symptoms and treatment
According to the World Health Organization, about 20% of the world’s population faces such a problem as irritable bowel syndrome. This is not a specific disease, but a series of symptoms that cause severe discomfort in a person and often lead to a decrease in his quality of life.
What does the term “irritable bowel syndrome” include?
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) refers to digestive disorders, which are characterized by such manifestations as abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, flatulence, etc. Surprisingly, from a medical point of view, at the same time, the gastrointestinal tract is healthy, feces and blood tests are good.
There seems to be no apparent reason, and people suffer from abdominal pain and severe discomfort for years. Why does this happen if the digestive system is normal? Many doctors and scientists are of the opinion that discomfort can be caused by a number of mental and physical disorders. Factors that can provoke the development of IBS are:
Problems in the nervous system, when there is a dissonance in the interaction of the intestine and the brain.
Disruptions in intestinal motility: if it accelerates, diarrhea occurs, slows down – constipation.
Depression, stress, panic attacks.
Infections in the gastrointestinal tract.
Hormonal disorders.
Bad heredity.
Improper nutrition.
Symptoms of IBS
The main features of this syndrome include:
pain in the stomach, intestine, which can be both cutting and pressing nature, acute, paroxysmal, etc .;
change of defecation: diarrhea, constipation;
excessive gas formation;
mucus in feces;
headache;
weight loss.
Symptoms of IBS may periodically disappear and then reappear for no apparent reason.
How to deal with irritable bowel syndrome?
Since IBS does not lead to pathological changes in the body, it is quite difficult to treat it. The main task of the doctor is to eliminate diseases that cause the same symptoms. Therefore, a person with complaints about the work of the gastrointestinal tract is prescribed an analysis of feces, blood, rectal examination and other necessary diagnostic procedures. When the examination excludes other diseases, the doctor can diagnose “irritable bowel syndrome”. It is necessary to evaluate the general psychological state of the patient.
A very important place in the treatment of IBS is a diet and lifestyle correction. Psychotherapy is also important, sometimes hypnotherapy is also used, because often the problem lies precisely in the brain. Drug treatment is aimed at eliminating unpleasant symptoms for a person.
In general, the treatment of IBS is complex and rather long. After a period of improvement, the patient may again feel painful symptoms, but if the therapy is effective, each time they will be less pronounced and will disappear with time. However, you need to be patient, quickly get rid of irritable bowel syndrome does not work.
It is difficult to fight irritable bowel syndrome, because it is not a disease in the usual sense. It is not dangerous for humans, but it can significantly impair the quality of life. Since most often the cause of IBS are psycho-emotional problems, it is necessary, first of all, to try to eliminate their causes. And then irritable bowel syndrome may become a thing of the past.
