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Posts Tagged ‘irritable bowel disease’

Symptoms Of Irritable Bowel Disease

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

Diagnosing Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Disease

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is one of the most common disorders that people experience. Usually people experiencing IBS has intestines that either squeezes too hard or to too slowly which makes the food move out of the body too quickly or too slowly. The symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects people starting the age of twenty and are more predominant among women.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is also known in other names such as a functional bowel syndrome, spastic bowel, spastic colon and irritable colon. IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome is not likened to Inflammatory Bowel disease like for instance ulcerative colitis.

Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome
The most common symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome include:
1. Bloating and gas,
2. Presence of mucus in the stool,
3. Constipation,
4. Diarrhea that happens frequently in the morning,
5. Feeling that you have not fully completed a bowel movement after you have one,
6. Strong feeling or urge to move bowel
7. Abdominal pain
8. Cramping that often go away after a bowel movement

Different person exhibits different Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms. Some people may experience constipation while others may have diarrhea or both. Straining or cramping is common among IBS patients who cannot properly eliminate stool. Their inability to have a complete bowel movement caused them too much discomfort and pain.

And in case that they were able to have a bowel movement, traces of mucus are visible on the stool. For patients with diarrhea, they usually have that urgent feeling or urge to have a bowel movement. There are also some IBS patients that have both constipation and diarrhea.

The symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome sometimes subside and then return again after a while. There are also cases of IBS that worsen over time.

How to Diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
It is very important that you consult a doctor if you suspect that you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. This is vital for the early detection of IBS symptoms. The diagnoses that are usually conducted to check Irritable Bowel Syndrome are based on a patient’s comprehensive medical history or record, which contains descriptions of symptoms.

And since Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a disorder that affects the colon or the large intestines it is only logical that you visit or consult a gastroenterologist since it is an expert in treating diseases pertaining to the digestive system. Generally, gastroenterologists would perform colon test called colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy which makes use of an equipment that is consist of a flexible tube that has a camera at the end. This equipment is inserted in the anus to enable the doctor to see the inside of the colon better.

Likewise, physical examination results are also needed to diagnose IBS symptoms. The truth of the matter is that there are no really specific tests for IBS. The diagnostic tests that are performed are just to rule out the possibilities of other diseases. The tests for IBS include x-rays, stool sampling and blood testing.

If ever the tests results show negative the next thing that doctors do is to refer to their list of IBS symptoms to make their diagnosis. In addition there are some symptoms that may seem to connote Irritable Bowel Syndrome but in reality are symptoms of a different illness. Some of these symptoms may include bleeding, weight loss, severe pain and fever can indicate inflammation but definitely not Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

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More Facts On Irritable Bowel Syndrome – IBS

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

4) There are various and seemingly contradicting symptoms – Many people expect this type of illness to be diagnosed using a standard set of symptoms.

This means that many people expect to see the same set of symptoms in people suffering from Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). However, you should realize that each case of Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can be different in symptoms. Some people experience diarrhea while others may experience constipation. Only after a series of tests can a physician truly say that a person has irritable bowel syndrome.

5) Your diet affects it – Since irritable bowel syndrome mostly affects the digestive process, it is the case that what you eat can affect how you feel. When eating, remember that you need to have lots of soluble fiber. This helps stabilize your digestive process and prevent both diarrhea and constipation.
You should also try to avoid these foods:

a) High- fat
b) Alcohol
c) Carbonated Drinks
d) Coffee (even decaffeinated coffee is not good)
e) Dairy Products (even for those without lactose intolerance)

6) Not all types of fiber can help with it – There are different articles circulating around the web that promote eating different foods with fiber. They often cite fruits and vegetables as examples of what a person suffering from irritable bowel disease (IBS) should eat plenty of. However, people should realize the fact that these contain insoluble fiber that could worsen the symptoms of the illness. What people need to do is to take soluble fiber supplements together with these foods in order to balance the activity in the stomach.

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Irritable Bowel: Disease?

Friday, November 7th, 2008

Many people today have the misconception that a person suffering from irritable bowel syndrome is suffering from a disease. However, they are actually quite mistaken. Not only are they mistaken, they can also cause a lot of harm because of their mistake.

The term “irritable bowel disease” can have a lot of negative meanings attached to it. People who use this term loosely rarely have any idea of what implications they are making. These implications can cause a lot of harm to the person suffering from this illness and to the people who do not have any knowledge regarding irritable bowel syndrome.

First of all, when people say “irritable bowel disease” it seems as if they are talking about something contagious. This could be enough to isolate the one suffering from the syndrome. Of course, people do not want to get irritable bowel syndrome and they try to do al they can to avoid having this illness.

This means that if people were to call this condition a “disease”, then those people will think that they can get it from people who are already suffering from this illness. Because of this, they will avoid any type of contact with people who have this syndrome.

This means that the person who has irritable bowel syndrome would not only have to suffer the different symptoms of this illness, he or she would also have to go through the pain of social isolation.

As we all know, social isolation is one of the most painful things that can happen to a human being. That is the reason why solitary confinement is known today as one of the harshest punishments in jail.

The term “irritable bowel disease” also gives another implication: that there is a cure. In fact, this condition is not really curable. Although there are various medicines and methods that can be used to reduce its symptoms, there is no actual cure that can cause a person to stop having irritable bowel syndrome.

A false hope of a cure can cause a lot of damage to a person suffering from irritable bowel syndrome. They may be lured by various false cures that are being offered out there. They could be the unwitting victim of a drug that only makes their symptoms worse.

Another damage caused by this is the fact that they may forget how to keep the symptoms at bay. People suffering from irritable bowel syndrome rely on different methods to keep the different symptoms of this illness at bay.

When people think that it can be cured, they tend to take these methods for granted. Some would think that they can take the brunt of the symptoms until they find the cure for their “irritable bowel disease”. Sadly, these people would suffer for nothing.

A lot of damage can be done by changing one word. We act differently if something is given a different label. Irritable bowel is not a disease, it is a syndrome.

This means that it is a condition. It is a given set of symptoms. One should not avoid people suffering from “irritable bowel disease”, one should try to understand the condition of the people suffering from “irritable bowel syndrome”. Only by learning how to use the right words can we hope to understand our fellow men.

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Facts About Feline Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Monday, October 27th, 2008

Feline Irritable Bowel Syndrome is often confused with inflammatory bowel disease. Since the latter is a much worse disease than the former, many pet owners find themselves panicking.

However, cat lovers should realize that feline irritable bowel syndrome is not really as bad as inflammatory bowel disease.

Feline Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a functional disorder. This means that there’s nothing wrong with your cat’s anatomy, but there is something wrong with the way it works.

This is often considered to be psychosomatic, which means it is affected by the mind of your pet. Thus, one way to treat the symptoms of feline irritable bowel syndrome is to instill the right mindset on your cat.

Feline irritable bowel syndrome is characterized by a sudden change in a cat’s stool frequency. The cat would either be defecating more frequently than usual or it could be less than usual. It is also characterized by diarrhea or constipation.

Another symptom of this illness is abdominal pain. If your pet seems to have abdominal pain combined with the other symptoms your cat may have feline irritable bowel disease. There are various types of treatments for feline irritable bowel disease:

1) Less stress – Feline Irritable Bowel Syndrome can be aggravated by stress. Because of this, a common advice for people who have cats that are suffering from feline irritable bowel syndrome is to try and find the source of stress for their cats.

After pinpointing what factor causes stress in their pets, owners should try to eliminate this factor and place their pets in a situation where the cat is comfortable.

There are also certain types of medicines which you can give your cat to help lessen its anxiety. This will help greatly in relieving the symptoms of feline irritable bowel syndrome.

In doing this, you need to try and see the environment through your cat’s perspective. Something that you don’t see as stressful could cause anxiety in your cat. Something as simple as a new rug could trigger the symptoms of feline irritable bowel syndrome.

2) Proper diet – Another trigger of feline irritable bowel syndrome is food. Eating the wrong sorts of food can aggravate the symptoms of feline irritable bowel syndrome. The proper diet for feline irritable bowel syndrome depends on your cat’s symptoms.

Some cats experience diarrhea as a symptom of feline irritable bowel syndrome. In cases like this, it is important to find foods that would stop the diarrhea.

This means that you have to find foods that would help make your pet’s stool harder. Of course, the opposite is required if your cat is suffering from constipation.

4) Lots of water – A cat suffering from feline irritable bowel syndrome needs a lot of water. This is in order to help in cleansing the stomach and in stabilizing the digestive process. You should encourage your cat to drink more from his or her bowl.

3) Supplements – When feeding a cat with feline irritable bowel syndrome, an owner should keep in mind to give the pet lots of insoluble fiber.

This is in order to stabilize the digestive process of the cat. Soluble fiber can be purchased in the form of a powder which can be mixed into your cat’s food. There are also different types of pet food which contain high percentages of soluble fiber. Ask about this type of food from your pet shop.

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