Diagnosing Irritable Bowel Syndrome: What you need to know

Diagnosing Irritable Bowel Syndrome: What you need to know

Irritable bowel syndrome, IBS, or spastic colon is a functional bowel disorder characterized by the following conditions: chronic abdominal pain, discomfort, bloating, and alteration of bowel habits in the absence of any detectable organic cause.Diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome is based on symptoms. The bowel of a person suffering from IBS symptoms won't show signs of active disease when examined. Diagnosis is actually one of exclusion. Your doctor or gastrointestinal specialist will perform tests that rule out other common bowel illnesses such as: colon cancer, coeliac disease, fructose mal-absorption, mild infections, parasitic infections like giardiasis, several inflammatory bowel diseases, functional chronic constipation, and chronic functional abdominal pain. Diagnosis of Irritated Bowel Syndrome is mainly determined by eliminating other possible causes, however there are hundreds of these potential causes which could be a catalyst for IBS -- the best solution is to visit your local general practitioner.

The following are suggestions for those who have IBS symptoms such as: diarrhea, constipation and/or frequent gastrointestinal pain: Ask your doctor to refer you to a gastroenterologist. Take notes and keep a journal of the symptoms: what they were like, frequency and duration, when they increased, and what triggered them. Describe these in detail to your doctor or specialist. Note what conditions seem to relieve IBS symptoms as well. Have a rectal examination. This gives your doctor a better understanding of your condition. Save a stool specimen for your doctor to examine for hidden blood, parasites, bacteria and white blood cell. Aproctosigmoidoscopy will allow the gastroenterologist to see into your intestine. A barium enema will allow your doctor to see your entire intestine. These above tests will rule out other bowel diseases such as cancer, polyps and infections. Because IBS diagnosis is one of elimination, your doctor must rule out all other bowel diseases before diagnosingIrritated Bowel Syndrome.

Basically, if your tests show that your symptoms are NOT caused by other diseases, conditions or infections, then your condition will be diagnosed as Irritated Bowel Syndrome. When tests show that IBS symptoms such as: diarrhea, constipation and/or frequent gastrointestinal pain are not the result of any other condition, then Irritated Bowel Syndrome is the diagnosis.

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