Any condition, disorder, disease and syndrome with an unknown cause are almost lacking of an effective way to manage the condition. The best resolution though is to help relieve or eliminate the symptoms to suppress the condition. But this does not imply that the condition is already treated. Only, the symptoms are for the moment, subside.
This condition applies to Irritable Bowel Syndrome. While many cases have been studied by the medical and scientific communities, the subject still lead us no near to any cure. And so we are left with making the most of the resources available to us.
Some facets of the disease’s nature though has been discovered. For instance, we all know that the intestinal tract regularly contract and relax to facilitate the proper digestion of food. When their contraction and relaxation is disturbed, you may either feel bloated, or may experience constipation or diarrhea, depending on the speed and irregularity of contraction and relaxation of the muscles. Thus, we know how Irritable Bowel Syndrome occurs.
Nevertheless, the exact causes are yet to be found. Many leads seem to shed light on finding an effective cure but since the disease is basically a functional disorder, treatments can best be unraveled through knowing in full how the whole digestive system works.
Here are some tips to help fix Irritable Bowel Syndrome:
Since stress is directly related with this syndrome, patients are often advised of staying away from stressful situations or at least create a plan for managing stress. This advice is based on the reports that most patients experience attacks of symptoms after a stressful activity or during a stressful meal. This can further be helped through practicing yoga, meditation and deep breathing.
The reasons for these are not clear. Though the scientific community knows that the digestive system is partly associated with the autonomic nervous system that controls voluntary muscles and actions in the body.
Reports on Irritable Bowel Syndrome attacks suggest that certain foods and beverages that cause chemical interaction in the intestinal tract or can help change the movements in the colon may also trigger the symptoms.
Fatty foods are also known to trigger the symptoms. It is best to minimize the intake of foods such as ice cream or any kinds of cream-based foods, chocolate and chocolate products, substances that contain caffeine such as coffee, tea and sodas, carbonated drinks and artificial sweeteners.
To keep track of foods that irritate your colon, you can keep a journal of your daily food intake and check which foods seem to trigger the symptoms.
If there are foods that cause a flare up of symptoms, you can adjust your intake and supplement them with other foods that do not have the same effects on your disorder. This activity will provide your doctor with substantial information that will lead to a well-designed treatment based on your personal needs.
Your dietitian will help largely in creating a balanced diet for you while getting around the possibility of triggering attacks.
Apart from avoiding problematic foods and stress management, you might also practice healthful drinking. Drinking plenty of water along with an increase of fiber intake proves to be helpful in lessening your susceptibility to recurrence of symptoms. This is most effective when the prevailing symptom is constipation.
Once the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome is fixed, it is likely that there would be a temporary stoppage of symptoms. Please seek your doctor’s advice to create a more feasible plan of discontinuing the occurrence of the disorder.
There are a lot of things that can be said to a person that is suffering from IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, kind words of support, words of acceptance and other dialogues that are taken straight from the Hallmark factory. To those suffering with Irritable Bowel Syndrome words can never describe how it really makes them feel. It is an ongoing roller coaster of symptoms that occur almost daily from mild, moderate to severe.
People that are suffering from IBS have gone through the eye of the needle trying to find the best remedies for their problems. Unfortunately, the solutions to alleviate these symptoms for IBS is a hit or miss. IBS is a complex syndrome that most physicians end up suffering them because they themselves can’t determine a solution.
However, even though the cure for IBS is like shooting for the stars, the good news is the abundance of suggested foods and supplements can give IBS sufferers much to try. And although rectifying the symptoms of IBS is hit or miss, many of the sufferers have found a cure that can help them.
Here are some of the suggested medications out there that are a bandage for IBS sufferers. Please bear in mind that not all of the medications on the market today are effective for all cases. An individualized plan is a much better solution rather than a hit and miss standard protocol. Trying one method may be effective and another method may be ineffective for those suffering with IBS. Therefore, it’s important to look at this problem from a personalized perspective to get down to the root cause of your IBS symptoms.
Diet: Intolerance to food has been growing as the cause in some people IBS. Because people have been excluding some foods and including some in their diet, these actions may have caused them to have IBS. This method allows a person to include and exclude a certain type of food for a week to know which foods cause them to have their IBS triggered. This includes: dairy, milk, soy, wheat eggs to name a few foods.
Medicines and drugs: Taking a certain kind of drug or medicine to relieve the symptoms of IBS can also be useful. If you’re taking medications for other health issues this can be a factor in lessening IBS symptoms. Be sure to also ask your doctor about your symptoms as some pharmaceutical medications today tend to worsen IBS symptoms.
Supplements: Taking Vitamin supplements is also one way of alleviating symptoms of IBS. Taking supplements like fiber, calcium, magnesium, flaxseed/linseed and vitamin C
Teas: Chamomile, Fennel, Peppermint or Ginger
Hypnotherapy/Hypnosis: One of the most common and most useful types of holistic modalities that can lessen symptoms for IBS is hypnotherapy. Many have tried this method because they it has given them improved results.
When taking a deeper look into Irritable bowel Syndrome it is important to understand that one size fits all solution can never be the right choice if you suffer from this condition. There are many remedies on the market today, however it is very essential to come at this through an individual/personalized care for maximum longstanding results.
Camille McClellan, MD, DNM, MBS
Naturopathic practitioner
McClellan Natural Health, Wellness & Nutrition
Free Naturopathic/Homeopathic Consults Available
