Do you know the Symptoms of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

The primary symptoms experienced by individuals enduring IBS are abdominal pain, bloating, and discomfort, although these can differ from one person to another. Other IBS patients sometimes experience constipation which can be characterized by hard, dry, and irregular bowel movements. Often these people report straining and cramps when they try to have a bowel movement and can not eliminate any stool, or they are can eliminate only a small amount. If they do eventually have a bowel movement, there could be mucus in it, which is a fluid that moistens and protect passages in the digestive system. On the other hand, people who suffer with IBS may also suffer with diarrhea, where the person is prone to loose, watery stools, and too-frequent bowel movements, as opposed to constipation. People with diarrhea frequently feel an urgent and uncontrollable need to have a bowel movement. Other people with IBS alternate between constipation and diarrhea. People with IBS may find some symptoms receding for some months, and then coming back after a time. Unfortunately for others, the symptoms may only worsen over time.

Because IBS is a problem with the colon, and the colon removes water from unprocessed food waste, it is common for people with the condition to be constipated or have diarrhea. Constipation takes place when the food waste stays in the body’s colon for longer than the usual time, absorbing a lot of water, and thereby hardening the stool and making it difficult to pass. In contrast, diarrhea occurs when the waste matter, aided by the colon muscles, moves along the colon too fast so that only very little of the fluid content is removed.

The symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are usually recurring, meaning that a person will have bouts of symptoms on an ongoing basis as opposed to just once or twice a year. IBS patients have also reported an increase in symptoms with certain triggers. For some, they notice this after consuming large amounts of food, while for others, constant pressure or stress triggers the more severe attacks. Some women notice that they get symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome around the time of their monthly periods.

Abdominal pain or discomfort is the primary symptom of IBS. It’s important to say, if you get a stomach ache, gas, or bloating now and then, it does not necessarily mean that you have irritable bowel syndrome. People with IBS most frequenly have at least two of the following symptoms:

>pain or discomfort that is relieved when a person goes to the bathroom and has a bowel movement

>Abdominal pain or discomfort that usually comes when a person unconsciously changes bowel movement routines;

>Abdominal ache or discomfort that comes with changes in a person’s stool appearance. For those who are constipated, stools become dry and harder to pass, while those experiencing diarrhea have loose, watery stool.

A person who seems to have just one of these symptoms in all probability does not have IBS.

Also, the following symptoms are not usually indicative of irritable bowel syndrome:

Blood is passed together with stool or urine

Vomiting

Abdominal pain or diarrhea so severe that it disturbs a person’s sleep

Fever

Weight loss