irritable bowel syndrome and ibs symtoms

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Your Journey into Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a disorder characterized most commonly by cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea.

As its name indicates, Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a syndrome. That is, IBS is a combination of signs and symptoms, but not a disease. IBS is classified as a functional disorder. A functional disorder refers to a condition where the primary abnormality is an altered physiological function (the way the body works), rather than an identifiable inflammatory, infectious, structural, or biochemical cause.

Research also indicates that IBS is a multi-faceted disorder. For example, the symptoms of IBS result from what seems to be a disturbance or imbalance in the interaction between the intestines, the brain, sensory function, and the autonomic nervous system that alters regulation of bowel motility (motor function).

The articles on this site are provided to help you to better understand Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and your options for relief of these symptoms.

Click Here right arrow For a Special Report on the causes and treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

IBS and Children


IBS and Children

The condition of IBS is not related to a specific age, gender or type of personality. This chronic disorder can be a part of anyone’s life if the digestive system is off track. It will then cause symptoms of abdominal cramping and pain, constipation and diarrhea. Because it can become a problem for anyone, it is important to notice if your child may have any of these. If so, then you can take a series of steps to help them move past IBS.

One of the recognitions that you can make when determining whether your child has IBS, is determining when and how long their symptoms have occurred. IBS is known to be a chronic disorder if it occurs for a period of twelve weeks out of one year. Often times, you will notice that it is triggered after a stressful event that may be happening in the child’s life, such as a sickness or school problems. While this won’t cause IBS, it will often trigger the symptoms.

If you have seen several of the IBS symptoms in your child, then you should take them to a doctor. This will ensure that it is IBS and not a more severe symptom. Doctors will be able to perform specific examinations related to IBS to determine whether it is the IBS disorder or whether they have a more specific disease. From here, they can make recommendations on how to fix the problem.

From here, you can begin to make changes in the child’s lifestyle to prevent IBS. Most of the time, you won’t want to offer children the same medications that an adult can take for IBS. The formulas may be too strong for them and cause complications. Instead, you will need to take more natural approaches to solving the problem.

One of the major things that will need to be done is a change in diet for the child. It is known that eating more fiber and less fat will help the child to get rid of the problem. You can also try adding supplements for children into their diet that will help the nutrients to become more balanced for the child. If you have noticed that they aren’t getting enough physical activity, you might want to try a change in this as well, allowing them more time to run and play.

One option that you may also want to consider is talking to your kids about what is stressful to them. IBS symptoms are usually triggered by these stresses in the child. If you allow them to speak about what is bothering them, it will calm them down more and help with preventing IBS from occurring.

When you combine a change in diet, shift in activities and talking to your kids about things that are stressful, you will be able to prevent the problems with IBS. Knowing the symptoms that are occurring in the child, then taking the proper steps to shift them is a way to make sure that you are helping your child to get rid of this discomfort.


For information on a number of other common health problems, be sure to check out our home page at Common Health Problems.

Health problems are becoming more common as the "baby boom" generation gets older and will continue to do so for the next 20 years or so. Bowel problems are no exception.

 

Risk Factors for IBS

The main risk factors for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) include:

  • Sex
  • Family History

For example, you are far more likely to have IBS if you're young and female. In fact, two to three times as many women as men have the condition.

In addition, IBS does seem to run in families, possibly suggesting a genetic cause for the condition.

However, at the current time, the precise cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is not known.

New Irritable Bowel Information

  • Fiber and IBS
    Fiber and IBS Those who have IBS may also hear the term fiber in relation to it. Fiber is one of the major ways to help prevent IBS. By knowing the details on fiber and how it relates to your symptoms, you can use it effectively to ease the discomforts of IBS. There are several characteristics to fiber that will help with your symptoms as well as several types of fibers to use. Fibers are mostly found in whole grains. Breads, spaghetti and wheat will all have a high amount of fiber i ...
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  • How Common is IBS
    How Common is IBS? There are several that state that IBS is not a common syndrome among most. However, there are several statistics that state that it is a more common problem than most would think. If you are dealing with IBS, you may now be finding that you are not alone with the problem. There are several others that are having the same symptoms as you. In general, it is said that IBS affects between ten to twenty percent of the population. It is also known as one of the most comm ...
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  • How Is Stress Related to IBS
    How Is Stress Related to IBS? For those with symptoms of IBS, they may have heard the stress is a factor that causes or is related to IBS. If you know the function of stress with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, it can give you new options for fighting IBS. When learning about IBS, learning it's relation to stress is one of the factors in determining what to do to prevent IBS from constantly occurring. Irritable Bowel Syndrome is known as a syndrome from the brain to the gut. This means that ...
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    IBS in the News


    08/24/2010
    Low Bone Mineral Density Common In Children And Teenagers With Inflammatory Bowel Disease
    A thesis from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) is the first in Scandinavia to study the occurrence of low bone mineral density in children and teenagers with inflammatory bowel disease. Half of the patients in the study showed signs of low bone mineral density...

    more IBS info


    08/23/2010
    Stress Management, Diet Changes Improve Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms
    When persistent cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea and constipation are causing distress and frequent bathroom trips, the next stop should be a visit to the doctor. These symptoms, commonly caused by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), often can be minimized with diet and lifestyle changes...

    more IBS info


    08/21/2010
    Proof That Irritable Bowel Syndrome Is Not In Your Head
    Irritable bowel syndrome makes life miserable for those affected -- an estimated ten percent or more of the population. And what irritates many of them even more is that they often are labeled as hypochondriacs, since physical causes for irritable bowel syndrome have never been identified...

    more IBS info


    08/05/2010
    UCD Scientists Pinpoint Potential Key Regulator In Battle To Target Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
    Research into inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) led by UCD Conway Institute scientists with national and international collaborators has identified a key regulator involved in maintaining the functional integrity of the gut lining...

    more IBS info


    08/05/2010
    N30 Pharma Announces FDA Approval To Initiate Phase 1 Clinical Trial For First-in-Class Drug
    N30 Pharmaceuticals, LLC announced the approval of its Investigational New Drug Application for N6022 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. N6022, a first-in-class inhibitor of s-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR), has the potential to be an important new treatment for acute exacerbations of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)...

    more IBS info

  • 10 Step Detox Program By Dr. Janet Hull
    Detoxification program for Radiation, Heavy Metals, Mercury, and Food Chemicals such as Aspartame!

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