Proper diet and treatment can lessen the problems caused by Irritable Bowel Syndrome
IF THE alarm clock has become obsolete today, it is due to the ubiquitous mobile buzzing off to wake you up, signalling the grind of yet another day.
When you are all set to step out for the day and that’s when the abdomen rumbles and gurgles, compelling for a bowel call, chances are you could be suffering from an irritable bowel.
The large intestine is where the last part of digestion is completed and stool is formed and excreted. It is endowed with smooth muscle fibres that help in regular contractile movement.
Sometimes, the bowel reacts when there is no reflex thereby compelling stool to be passed more number of times. There could also be a lazy reaction to the reflex leading to constipation.
Symptoms : Patients with irritable bowel complain of an urge to pass stool frequently, about three times a day. The urge could be associated with urgency but sometimes, on heeding the urge they may not pass stool and a sense of incomplete evacuation could remain. The stools could be watery or not completely formed and filled with mucus on occasions.
The urge to pass stool could occur immediately after eating and there could be discomfort in the abdomen like pain, rumbling and gurgling, which are all relieved by passage of stool. Flatulence is another common symptom. Diarrhoea could alternate with constipation, compelling the patient to strain to pass stool.
Causes: Though there is no particular reason why an irritable bowel occurs, the trigger factors more often than not can be identified.
And they generally can be traced to emotional stress, food and hormones. Having foods like milk products, sweets, caffeine, alcohol, carbonated drinks, fatty foods, sour foods, chat etc., or simply tucking into a large meal can trigger an episode.
Prevention: Avoiding undue anxiety, limiting intake of foods that irritate the bowel (specific to the person) and improving intake of fibre rich foods like apples, cabbage, carrots, peas, whole grain bread and cereals would help in reducing the number of attacks.
Treatment: Homoeopathic medicine has excellent remedies to alleviate symptoms of urgency, discomfort in abdomen, ill-formed stools etc. by making the large intestine less vulnerable to trivial triggers.
These remedies prevent further episodes too. Argentum Nit and Nux Vomica get rid of diarrhoea caused due to anxiety. The urge to pass stool after eating is helped by Aloes and Croton Tog. Ill formed stool with abdominal pain is cured by Colocynth and Mercurius.
