Irritable Bowel Syndrome Self Check: What Are The Vital Signs

By: Renee | Feb 21 2011 | 330 words | 1154 hits

Irritable Bowel Syndrome or commonly known as IBS in short affects an estimated 20 percent of working adults as early as early twenties.  IBS can be effectively treated and here are the symtoms

Abdominal pain and cramps due to bloating is common and slowly it gets to more acute pain. Sometimes this gives out an electrical shock sensation. For later stage patients, this bloating can be felt even at areas near the middle of the rib cage just beside the heart, resulting in heart burn. 

Most off the shelf medicines maybe able to help relief on a day to day basis. However, to completely get rid of irritable bowel syndrome this will require more than just medication.

One will also always feel the gastric churning with increased frequency. This always set in as soon as it reaches meal times. The painful fact is that after one consumes food to fill the stomach, the problem can get worse. At one stage, one may not be able to tell whether it is due to hunger or overfeeding! The stomach is giving out very confusing signals. You may feel hungry but as you tend to eat more it adds up to the painful experience.

Especially after meal, it is common for one to experience nausea and very often belching as well. There will be lost of appetite due to the abdominal discomfort.

With this lost of appetite and discomfort, sleep maybe disturbed resulting in fatigue and lost of one's concentration. This can end up with chronic indigestion. Bowel movements may be irregular and alternate between diarrhea and constipation. Stool may be loose and watery and at times mucous may passed. There is often much straining, urgency, and feeling of incomplete bowel movement making one's visit to the toilet more often.  

Diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome is usually based on the continuous presence or recurrence of these symptoms over a period of time. Other intestinal conditions must be ruled out. These include Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer, inflammatory conditions of the stomach or pancreas, ulcers or any other infectious diseases. 

About author:
Gastric pain or stomach ache can be very disturbing and agonizing both physically and psychologically. At times, the pain can be so acute and intense that it is so intolerable. In more serious cases, this leads to severe health issues that require immediate consultation to the doctor. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT Irritable Bowel Syndrome .