Treatment of IBS

Some people with IBS may not require any treatment, depending on the symptoms that they present.

However, medication is available for those who persistently have constipation, diarrohea and/or abdominal pain.

The best way to treat IBS is to eat a healthy diet, avoid foods that make you feel worse and reduce your stress levels.

The following may reduce your IBS symptoms:

• Increasing the amount of fibre in your diet may help to ease the discomfort of constipation. however, there are two types of fibre (soluble and insoluble). Soluble fibre helps both diarrohea and constipation but Insoluble fibre may make diarrohea worse.
• Record the food that you are eating and try to spot a correlation to the level of IBS symptoms that you are suffering.
• Use anti-diarrohea medication if diarrohea is the predominant symptom.
• Anti-spasmodic agents may help to relieve cramps and abdominal pain. However there are some side-effects to using these agents which may present blurred vision and dry mouth.
• Muscle relaxants may help to relieve spasms. Again however side-effects may include nausea, headache, itchy skin,, rash and dizziness.
• Peppermint oil sometimes helps with stomach cramps, but may occasionally cause heartburn.
• Reduce stress in your life. Get regular exercise, take more time off work, enjoy yourself!

Did you know? Two out of three people with IBS feel that a dietary allergy or intolerance is to blame for their IBS!

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