What Are the Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
The main symptoms encountered by individuals experiencing ibs (irritable bowel syndrome) are abdominal pain, bloating, and discomfort, although these can vary from one person to another. Other IBS patients also have constipation which is characterized by hard, dry, and irregular bowel movements. Frequently such people report straining and cramping when attempting to have a bowel movement and yet are unable to eliminate any stool, or they are able to eliminate just a small amount. If bowel movement does take place, mucus, a fluid that serves to keep the passages in the digestive system moist and protected, is often present.
Some people with irritable bowel syndrome experience diarrhea, which is frequent, loose, watery, stools. People with diarrhea frequently feel an urgent and uncontrollable need to have a bowel movement. In some cases, patients with IBS find themselves going back and forth 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.
IBS is mainly a health issue associated with the colon, where the colon eliminates the water from unprocessed food waste. Because of this, people with IBS may experience constipation or diarrhea. Constipation occurs when waste matter remains in a person’s colon for too long so that too much water is absorbed, making the stool unusually hard and 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 likely to be recurring, meaning that a person will have bouts of symptoms on an ongoing basis rather than just once or twice a year. People with IBS often notice their symptoms flare up at certain times. For many, they notice this after consuming large amounts of food, while for others, constant pressure or stress triggers the more severe attacks. Their normal menstrual cycle could also set off IBS symptoms for some women.
The principal symptom of IBS is pain or discomfort in the abdomen. Of course, if you get a stomach ache, gas, or bloating sometimes, it does not necessarily mean that you have irritable bowel syndrome. In general, persons who have been diagnosed with IBS show two or more of the following symptoms:
>Abdominal ache or discomfort that is alleviated when that person is able to have a bowel movement;
>Pain or discomfort that is accompanied by changes in a person’s regular bowel movement patterns
>Pain or discomfort that is accompanied by changes in the way a person’s stool normally looks. Some people become constipated and their stools become hard and difficult to pass; other people develop diarrhea.
A person who seems to have just one of these symptoms in all probability does not have IBS.
The following are not normally symptoms or characteristics of irritable bowel syndrome:
Blood in stools or urine
Vomiting (rare, though may occasionally accompany nausea)
Abdominal pain or diarrhea so severe that it disturbs a person’s sleep
Fever
Weight loss