Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common conditions affecting that about 10 to 20% of the population. The essential features of IBS are:
. Abdominal pain or discomfort,
. Constipation or diarrhea, or both, and
. Bloating sensation
Causes
The causes and functional changes with IBS are not clearly assigned. There are several factors found to be associated with IBS in combination. These include infection, inflammation, antibiotics, diet habitand family (sometimes rather among the members of the family occur). But it is not yet clear whether any of these actually causes IBS or simply are associated only with her.
The walls of the bowel muscles relax and shrink included to help move food through the intestines. In IBS, the spasm of these muscles can be very strong and lasts longer than normal. Because of this anomaly, the food is forced if the bowel quickly and without proper digestion causes bloating, wind andDiarrhea.
Trigger factors
Stress:
Stress often worsens irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). About 50% of IBS patients attribute the onset of symptoms after a stressful event.
Other diseases
Sometimes cause other diseases such as diarrhea (gastroenteritis) could be IBS.
Incidence
It is estimated that approximately 10 to 20% suffering of the population of IBS at some point. It may be higher since many people with IBS do not wantseek medical advice. Women are two times more frequently affected than men. People aged between 20-30 years are at greater risk, although a slight increase in the incidence of older people still IBS recently.
Signs and symptoms
Signs and symptoms vary from person to person. Normal presentation of IBS is pain experienced over the left lower part of the abdomen or bloating relieved by opening the intestine. This pain is spontaneous and not associated with any triggering factors such as foodRecording.
Some have periods of constipation with small stools that look like rabbit pellets, alternating with loose movements.
Some have abdominal pain without any change in bowel habits. Some will complain only flatulence associated with flatulence, and mucus in the stool.
Many people have only mild problems, and they will not seek any medical help. For the majority of IBS is a long term condition, although it had good and bad days.
Most of the people whosuffer from this illness often look good, although they often have a severe abdominal pain and seen in the hospital several times.
In addition to the abdominal symptoms, patients can have associated symptoms such as fatigue, feeling sick, headache, back pain, and bladder problems.
This article is the first part of "Walking with a Doc Series – Irritable Bowel Syndrome."
Tags: Causes, Definition, Irritable, Symptoms, Syndrome