Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder of the intestinal tract that lasts for 3 months or more and is accompanied by abdominal pain with violations of the act of defecation or transit in the intestine. The muscles lining its walls are normally periodically contracted and relaxed during the passage of food, but during IBS this process is disrupted. As a result, there is discomfort with unpleasant sensations, which significantly impairs the quality of life of the patient.
The incidence of this disease is the same among children and adults. However, if in women this figure is about 70-80%, among men it is only 10-20% of the total number of cases. In general, according to research, IBS are found in 10-20% of the world's population. It is associated primarily with the close influence of the emotional state of man on the occurrence and nature of the disease, pointing to psychosomatics as one of the most common causes of exacerbation of its manifestations.
It should be noted that since one of the main requirements for diagnosis is the absence of organic lesions of the intestinal tract, most of the symptoms are collected from the subjective (but very real) complaints of the patient:
There are also three main forms of the disease, according to the type of defecation disorders, which predominate:
Unfortunately, it is still impossible to determine the exact cause of this disease. However, there are a number of factors that can cause it alone or in combination with each other.
The examination includes a direct examination by a doctor and a collection of medical history. At suspicion of IBS first of all diagnostics for an exception of other organic (or inflammatory) defeats of a digestive tract is carried out.
Treatment of irritable bowel syndrome is aimed at reducing or eliminating the influence of one or another factor that causes it and can be both non-drug and through the use of certain groups of drugs.
Non-drug include:
Medication groups of drugs are used as prescribed by a doctor, depending on which symptom predominates:
The main and most important complication of irritable bowel syndrome is a violation of the quality of social life of the patient. Caused symptoms not only create physical discomfort, but also negatively affect a person's ability to actively travel, work and interact with others. Despite this, the world is still struggling to ensure that patient do not hide the presence of IBS for fear of shedding light on the problem. That is why it is very important to understand that its solution and restoration of a normal way of life directly depends on the earliest possible start of the necessary treatment.
So the main tips are: