What Are the Symptoms of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
Tummy pain, bloating, and discomfort are the key symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. However, symptoms will vary from person to person. Some people have constipation, which means hard, difficult to pass, or infrequent bowel movements. When attempting to move their bowels, people who are constipated often strain hard and experience cramping, but the end result is that they are only able to release a small amount of stool, if any at all. 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 suffer from diarrhea, which is frequent, loose, watery, stools. Those who experience diarrhea are unable to control their bowel movement and hence, need to pass stool every so often. Other people with IBS alternate 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 takes place when the food waste stays in the body’s colon for longer than the usual time, absorbing a lot of water, and thereby hardening the stool and making it 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 usually are recurring, meaning that a person will have bouts of symptoms on an ongoing basis rather than just a couple of times a year. IBS patients have in addition reported an increase in symptoms in some instances. For some, they notice this after eating 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 primary symptom of IBS is pain or discomfort in the abdomen. It should be said, if you have a stomach ache, gas, or bloating sometimes, it does not mean that you have irritable bowel syndrome. People with IBS most frequenly have at least two of the following symptoms:
Abdominal ache or discomfort that is alleviated when that person is able to do bowel movement;
Abdominal pain or discomfort that usually comes when a person unconsciously changes bowel movement routines;
Abdominal ache or discomfort that comes with changes in a person’s stool appearance. For those who are constipated, stools become dry and harder to pass, while those experiencing diarrhea have loose, watery stool.
Someone who seems to have only one of these symptoms probably does not have IBS.
The following are not normally symptoms or characteristics of irritable bowel syndrome:
Blood is passed together with stool or urine
Vomiting
Abdominal pain or diarrhea so severe that it disturbs a person’s sleep
Fever
Weight loss