Treatment For Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Treatment for irritable bowel syndrome aims to provide relief of symptoms and improve your quality of life. The best approach is a combination of diet and lifestyle changes, medicines, probiotics, and mental health therapy to reduce stress. Talk to your doctor about what helps you, and be sure to describe all of your symptoms.과민성대장증후군치료

There’s no one cause of IBS, but it is thought that your brain and gut communicate, and that stress can trigger a flare-up of IBS symptoms. The condition is twice as common in women as men and usually starts in early adulthood. It’s not a serious disease, but it can be uncomfortable and interfere with your daily activities.

A common symptom of IBS is abdominal pain and discomfort that’s associated with diarrhea or constipation. You can often get relief from these symptoms by drinking lots of water and eating fiber-rich foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. You can also try over-the-counter (OTC) medicines for gas, such as simethicone (Gas-X), antacids, and magnesium or calcium carbonate supplements. But these medicines may cause side effects, such as belly cramps and diarrhea. Talk to your doctor before taking OTC medicines for long periods of time.

Food sensitivities or intolerances can make your IBS symptoms worse. You can sometimes find relief by avoiding foods that make you feel worse, such as gluten (wheat, barley, rye), beans, onions, garlic, apples, milk, and some fats. Your doctor may recommend a low FODMAP diet, which is an eating plan that cuts out foods that are hard to digest and can create gas, bloating, or diarrhea.

If your IBS symptoms are related to constipation, your doctor may recommend a laxative or stool softener to help your body move waste through your colon. Acupuncture, an ancient Chinese medicine technique that involves inserting needles into specific points on the skin, can be helpful for some people with IBS. It’s based on the belief that energy or life force called qi flows through pathways in the body called meridians.

Antidiarrheal medicines can ease diarrhea that’s caused by your IBS. Your doctor may recommend over-the-counter (OTC) medications, such as bismuth subsalicylate (Kaopectate, Pepto-Bismol), or loperamide (Imodium).

For some IBS sufferers, fatty foods can make their symptoms worse. You can try to avoid these if you’re having a flare-up, or add more dairy and other healthy fats to your diet. If you’re having diarrhea that doesn’t respond to other treatments, your doctor might give you the IBS drug alosetron (Lotronex). It relaxes your colon and slows the movement of waste through your lower intestine.

If your IBS is severe, you might need more tests to rule out other conditions that can cause the same symptoms, such as inflammatory bowel disease or ulcerative colitis. Your doctor might prescribe other medicines, such as antidepressants, anticholinergics, or antibiotics, depending on your needs and your symptoms. For example, if you have depression or anxiety along with your IBS, your provider might prescribe medicine to treat those problems too.해우소한의원