Health IBS
Q&A
Our Careway pharmacist Samantha Preston answers common questions about managing irritable bowel syndrome
What is irritable bowel
syndrome (IBS)? IBS is a common condition that affects the digestive system. Once you develop it, it can be a lifelong issue. If you have IBS it doesn’t mean there’s
something wrong with your digestive system, rather that there’s a problem with how your digestive system works. This means if you have IBS all parts of your digestive system look normal, even when inspected under a microscope. The condition is not associated with the development of serious disease.
Who gets IBS? According to
patient.co.uk, IBS is thought to affect about one in five people in the UK at some time in their lives. It can affect anyone at any age, but it most frequently first develops in young adults, usually between the ages of 20 and 30. More women are also affected by IBS than men.
What are the symptoms? The main symptoms of IBS include the following:
Abdominal pain or stomach cramps Pain can come and go and can often be worse after you eat. This often eases after you pass wind or have a bowel movement.
Bloating This often also causes excess wind.
Diarrhoea This can produce watery, loose stools, sometimes mixed with mucous. It can also trigger sudden urges to go to the toilet.
Constipation If you have constipation your stools may be smaller and almost like little pellets. You may strain when going to the toilet and feel as if you can’t empty your bowels properly.
22 All About health
Some people with IBS may also experience a combination of diarrhoea and constipation. Other symptoms that can be caused by IBS
include:
• Nausea • Headache • Migraine • Belching • Flatulence • Heartburn • Tiredness and lack of energy • Backache • Muscle pains • Feeling full quickly after eating • Urination problems (such as needing to urinate frequently, having sudden urges to urinate and feeling like you can’t empty your bladder fully) • Poor appetite
The severity and frequency of symptoms can vary greatly from one person with IBS to the next. Some may have mild symptoms occasionally, while others may have more severe symptoms more often and for longer periods of time.
What causes IBS? According to the NHS the exact cause of IBS isn’t known, though it may have something to do with part or parts of the digestive system being overactive. This means the regular contractions of the
bowel wall that pass food through the digestive system become abnormal, meaning food passes through your system too quickly or too slowly. Nobody knows why this happens, but it’s
thought that your symptoms may depend on which part of your digestive system becomes overactive.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
