Irritable Bowel Syndrome, how to manage IBS better

  

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder affecting roughly 1 in 4 people. Relatively few seek treatment from their doctor and simply live with what can be a debilitating condition. Many try (and often fail) self-help so we are very happy to give you 5 steps that help most IBS sufferers, and also very detailed IBS information and effective remedies.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS in a nutshell

There are three types of IBS: diarrhoea-predominant IBS, constipation-predominant IBS and alternating IBS where sufferers alternate between diarrhoea and constipation. So each IBS sufferer will have different symptoms but broadly speaking these are:

• crampy abdominal pain
• alteration in bowel habit
• bloating and painful swelling of the abdomen
• rumbling noises and excessive passage of wind
• a need to open the bowels frequently
• urgency and incontinence (if a toilet isn't nearby)
• a sharp pain inside the rectum
• right-sided abdominal pain, either low or under the right lower ribs which does not always improve on opening the bowels; or pain under the left lower ribs; when the pain is bad, it may ascend to the left armpit
• sensation of incomplete bowel movement

The following are additional, associated IBS symptoms: indigestion, belching, nausea, headaches, dizziness, ringing in the ears, fibromyalgia, backache, passing urine frequently, tiredness or chronic fatigue, shortness of breath, anxiety and depression. Of course diarrhoea-predominant IBS needs a different approach to constipation-predominant IBS.