Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: What You Need To Know, Basic Treatments:
To understand the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, it is important to first understand IBS itself. IBS is not classed as an illness because there is no cure, nor is it measurable through blood tests. However it is a common condition amongst normal people, who often diagnose themselves with IBS rather than seeing their medical practitioner.
Self diagnosis can be incredibly dangerous however as the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome can mask very serious medical conditions, which need to be ruled out. This is very rare, but considering some of these conditions include colon and bowel cancer, it would be best to have this checked of course.
People also tend to diagnose themselves with IBS if they have a simple bout of diarrhoea or constipation. This is not dangerous in itself, but it does mean that people can complicate their lives thinking they have IBS, when in effect they just had something to eat that didn’t quite agree with them.
The symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome generally include:
Frequent diarrhoea
Frequent constipation
A combination of either diarrhoea or constipation
Abdominal pain and discomfort
Abdominal distension and bloating
Most people experience all the above symptoms and more, but they happen in varying degrees of severity, making it very difficult to determine when something is or isn’t IBS. With some people, for example, the frequent diarrhoea is so severe that they are almost unable to leave the house without risking dehydration. With others, having IBS means that they are constipated for around one day a month. Generally, however, people will not seek medical advice or diagnose themselves with irritable bowel syndrome unless it causes them significant issues, including a lower quality of life. Usually, dietary changes, however, can all but cure IBS, which is the first thing sufferers should look into if they have been diagnosed (or if they have diagnosed themselves).