Irritable Bowel Syndrome Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Understanding
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic digestive tract disorder that usually affects the large intestine. This disease is characterized by complaints of abdominal pain, diarrhea and/or constipation.
IBS generally occurs in working people aged 20–45 years. At least one in ten workers have experienced it. Women are more frequently affected than men.
Symptom
The main symptom of Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is abdominal pain. Stomach like experiencing cramps. Generally, stomach pain complaints occur in stressful conditions, and stomach pain gets worse when the sufferer eats. It is typical for sufferers of IBS, abdominal pain will disappear once the sufferer has a bowel movement.
Apart from that, other symptoms of IBS are:
- Diarrhea (especially in the morning after eating)
- Constipation
- Stomach feels full
- Burp frequently
Reason
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) occurs as a result of excessive contractions of the large intestine. However, the cause of these excessive contractions is not known for certain until now. It is suspected that one of the causes is excessive anxiety and stress.
Anxiety and stress affect bowel movements and cause the intestines to become more sensitive to pain.
Diagnosis
How to determine the diagnosis of Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? Because IBS is triggered by stress, there are actually no laboratory tests or other additional tests needed.
However, many diseases of the digestive tract have symptoms similar to those of IBS, such as malabsorption disease and colitis. Therefore, to make sure someone has IBS, doctors will generally carry out several tests such as blood tests and endoscopy.
Endoscopy aims to ensure that the patient is not suffering from another digestive tract disease. This is important because the treatment of various types of gastrointestinal diseases varies widely.
Treatment
To treat Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), it generally takes several months to a year. The main treatment is a change in diet.
IBS sufferers who predominantly experience constipation must consume foods that are high in fiber, such as vegetables, fruit, and nuts. If constipation causes stools to be very difficult to pass, drugs containing lactulose can be used to reduce the symptoms experienced.
Meanwhile, IBS sufferers who predominantly experience diarrhea are advised to reduce their consumption of cow’s milk and dairy products such as yogurt, cheese or ice cream because many IBS sufferers whose intestines are unable to digest lactose (a substance found in milk and milk products).
Because IBS is often associated with anxiety and stress, treatment for both of these is very important. Doctors can prescribe antidepressants to help deal with anxiety and stress. In addition, counseling and hypnosis therapy ( self-hypnosis ) can also be done.
Prevention
Prevention of Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is done by preventing excessive anxiety and stress. This can be done by:
- Exercise regularly 4–5 times per week.
Regular exercise will cause the body to release endorphins (hormones that make you feel happy) so that stress can be reduced.
- Set breathing
When anxiety strikes, involve the muscles in the stomach while breathing. While inhaling, stretch your abdominal muscles (stomach looks enlarged). When exhaling, contract the abdominal muscles (stomach looks deflated). This will cause the stomach muscles to relax so that stomach cramps do not occur.
- Do activities to reduce stress
Occasionally take time to listen to music, soak in warm water, play games, read novels, and the like so that the body experiences relaxation for a moment.