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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
What is Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
What are the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
What is the cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
How is Irritable Bowel Syndrome investigated?
What is the treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
What is Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
Irritable Bowel Syndrome, is probably the
commonest bowel disorder treated by gastroenterological physicians and
surgeons. Other terms which are sometimes used to describe this
condition are spastic colon and mucus colitis.
What are the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
The symptoms are often a combination of
abdominal discomfort, abdominal distension, diarrhoea or constipation.
Abdominal discomfort is experienced by most patients at some time and
can occur in any part of the abdomen, but most commonly is in the left
side. The discomfort may be aggravated by food, and some people may
have a particular food intolerance. Abdominal distension, constipation
with the passage of small, hard, dry, pellet stools, pencil like
stools, or diarrhoea sometimes with explosive defaecation may occur.
Occasionally mucus alone is passed after defaecation.
What is the cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
The cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome is
unknown, but some patients often show anxiety or stress, and in some
instances symptoms can date back to the time of "food poisoning" or
"gastro". Many authorities believe that the condition represents an
exaggeration of normal function of the bowel with disordered or
uncoordinated bowel activity. Research into the cause of this condition
continues.
How is Irritable Bowel Syndrome investigated?
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is usually made as a
diagnosis of exclusion. This means that other organic pathology must be
ruled out, and to do so a variety of bowel investigations both in the
office, laboratory department or endoscopy department may be required.
What is the treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
It is always helpful for a patient to know that
the condition is benign, and that cancer has been ruled out. In some
patients treatment of stress related factors can also be helpful.
Anti-spasmodic drugs may relieve a number of symptoms, but often have
unacceptable side effects, and the dosage must be carefully monitored.
Peppermint oil preparations have recently been shown to help a
considerable number of sufferers. Constipation should be avoided, as
should excessive diarrhoea. Appropriate medications can be used in
these circumstances. The symptoms of irritable bowel may respond to
such treatment, but in many patients they continue to wax and wane in
severity, and sometimes spontaneously disappear.
Related Links
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Authorised: Adrian Polglase
Reviewed: Monday, February 27, 2006
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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Gas
July 18, 2007 |
| We’ve all experienced intestinal gas, some more than others. While belching, bloating, and flatulence are considered normal, the urge to pass gas can cause social embarrassment, discomfort and pain. Although you can’t stop gas from forming, you may be able to alleviate the symptoms through diet, lifestyle changes and medications. If you experience persistent gas pains, you should talk to your doctor.
For more information on intestinal gas, visit the ACG Web site at www.acg.gi.org
Source: American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)
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Bowel cancer finding brings screening closer
July 18, 2007 |
| RESEARCHERS have identified for the first time a gene that triggers bowel cancer, a move that could bring closer a genetic screening test for the disease.
The gene, carried by about half the population, appears to increase the risk of developing bowel cancer by 20per cent.
Bowel cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, accounting for about 13,000 new cases a year.
So far, faulty genes have only been implicated in about 5 per cent of all cancers, and 5 per cent of bowel cancers.
In the case of bowel cancers, the genetic defects so far associated with the disease are all thought to be associated with faulty cellular repair mechanisms, meaning that the body loses the ability to kill off cells that start to divide abnormally.
Bowel cancer is also the second most common cause of cancer death in Australia, accounting for 4372 deaths in 2003, or 11.5 per cent of the total fatalities. It is notoriously hard to pick up for a number of reasons, including the difficulty of picking up warning signs - such as blood in the faeces - and patients' reluctance to see their doctors.
This year the federal Government began rolling out a screening program, costing $43 million over three years, whereby older Australians send in a faecal sample for testing.
If blood that could indicate a cancer is detected in the sample, the patient may be called in for further examinations.
The latest findings, published in international journal Nature Genetics, suggest a faulty gene found on chromosome 8 may trigger bowel cancer, and account for 10per cent of all cases of the disease. |
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| Let's Beat Bowel Cancer |
| An initiative of Cabrini Health, Let's Beat Bowel Cancer is a not-for-profit, community awareness program dedicated to saving lives through improved bowel cancer research, education and prevention.
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