Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a functional disruption of the operation of a thick (much less often - thin) intestine, which is one of the most common diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. It is estimated that about 20% of the population is exposed to it, mainly people aged 20 to 45 years, and in women, irritable bowel syndrome is twice as common as in men. The latter statement is rather controversial, since this disease is not fraught with complications, and up to 75% of patients simply do not consult a doctor. Therefore, it is not possible to establish the exact ratio of men and women suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome - Causes
The exact causes of this problem have not yet been established. It is believed that one of the main factors that cause the syndrome of the bowel is stress. Also, the possible reasons for the appearance of TFR include poor nutrition, a lack or excess of intestinal bacteria, the use of products that enhance gas production, the abuse of fatty foods, caffeine. Irritable bowel syndrome is more pronounced in women during menstruation, due to violations of the hormonal background.
Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome
It should be noted that irritable bowel syndrome in medicine is considered not a disease, but a syndrome, that is, a complex of certain symptoms of disruption of the colon, which are observed for a fairly long period of time.
Usually, irritable bowel syndrome causes pain and discomfort in the abdomen, stools, there may be symptoms such as increased flatulence and the presence of mucus in the stool, pieces of poorly digested food.
To establish the diagnosis, usually use the so-called Roman criteria: a list of symptoms that persist, or there are regular relapses for at least three months, in the absence of any pronounced pathologies.
About irritable bowel syndrome speak, if:
- pains in the abdomen pass after emptying the intestine;
- the appearance of pain coincides with a change in the consistency of the stool;
- there is a correlation between pain in the abdomen and the frequency of defecation.
Depending on the prevailing symptoms, three variants of the course of the disease are distinguished:
- Irritable bowel syndrome with pain and flatulence.
- Irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea .
- Irritable bowel syndrome with constipation.
This division is largely conditional, as patients often have several symptoms at once.
How to cure irritable bowel syndrome?
Treatment of this disease is carried out exclusively by conservative methods:
- Since the factors that provoke irritable bowel syndrome include stress and various nerve disorders, then
very often in the treatment of the disease may require consultation of a neurologist, neurologist or psychologist, as well as taking sedatives. - Dietotherapy. It consists in the selection of proper nutrition, when the products that cause deterioration of the state are excluded from the diet, and only those that contribute to the normalization of the stool are used.
- Drug treatment. It is selected individually in each case and is aimed at neutralizing the symptoms that cause discomfort.
Treatment of irritable bowel syndrome is a long process, but fortunately, this syndrome does not provoke complications, and in mild cases it is possible to do without dieting without medication.