Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder that affects approximately twice as many women as men. IBS is a complex issue that is influenced by stress, diet, and multiple physiologic factors. Symptoms may be impacted by the volume of food eaten, environment, medications, and hormonal changes.
Here are the eight most common symptoms of IBS.
1. Abdominal Pain
Abdominal pain is the primary symptom of IBS. Pain is most commonly felt in the lower abdomen and may be constant or intermittent.
Medications that belong to a group of drugs which are called anticholinergics are often prescribed to reduce pain. They are usually taken before meals because pain often occurs during or shortly after a meal is consumed.
Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners view IBS as an imbalance of the body’s energy. They base treatments on specific qualities related to pain and other symptoms. Acupuncture, tai chi and qi gong are recommended by traditional Chinese medicine experts as means to relieve pain.
A bacterial infection such as food poisoning or a virus is often the cause of "stomach bug" symptoms, which is medically known as post-infectious IBS.
