Irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome: Introduction

Irritable bowel syndrome: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder of the intestines that leads to crampy pain, gassiness, bloating, and changes in ... more about Irritable bowel syndrome.

Irritable bowel syndrome: Spasms in the colon wall. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Irritable bowel syndrome is available below.

Symptoms of Irritable bowel syndrome

• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Frequent bowel motions
• Abdominal colic
• Abdominal cramping
• more symptoms...»

See full list of 22 symptoms of Irritable bowel syndrome

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Irritable bowel syndrome:

• Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Tests
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Tests
• Food Allergies & Intolerances: Home Testing:
  • Home Food Allergy Tests
  • Home Food Intolerance Testing
  • Home Water Testing
  • Home Lead Poisoning Tests
  • Home Heavy Metal Poisoning Tests
• Digestive-Related Home Testing:
  • Home Stomach Ulcer Tests
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Test Kits
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Test Kits
• more tests...»

Irritable bowel syndrome: Complications

Review possible medical complications related to Irritable bowel syndrome:

• Arthritis
• Inflammatory bowel syndrome arthritis (type of Seronegative spondyloarthropathy)
• Does not usually lead to any severe bowel conditions or bowel cancer
• more complications...»

Medical Textbooks Online about Irritable bowel syndrome

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Irritable bowel syndrome

• Physical exam
• Blood tests
• Stool sample
• Lower GI (gastrointestinal) series
• Endoscopy
• more tests...»

See full list of 6 diagnostic tests for Irritable bowel syndrome

Wrongly Diagnosed with Irritable bowel syndrome?

• Misdiagnosis of Irritable bowel syndrome
• Failure to diagnose Irritable bowel syndrome
• Hidden causes of Irritable bowel syndrome (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Undiagnosed: Irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome: Medical Mistakes

• Crohn's Disease -- Health Mistakes
• Ulcerative Colitis -- Health Mistakes
• Celiac Disease -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Irritable bowel syndrome: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available for Irritable bowel syndrome:

• Digestive Health
• more product offers...»

Irritable bowel syndrome: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

• Chronic Digestive Disorders that can remain Undiagnosed:
  • Crohn's Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Ulcerative Colitis -- Undiagnosed
  • Celiac Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Heartburn -- Undiagnosed
  • GERD -- Undiagnosed
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • Carcinoid Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • Pancreatitis -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Misdiagnosis and Irritable bowel syndrome

Chronic digestive conditions often misdiagnosed: When diagnosing chronic symptoms of the digestive tract, there are a variety of conditions that may be misdiagnosed. The best known, irritable bowel syndrome, is...read more »

Intestinal bacteria disorder may be hidden cause: One of the lesser known causes of diarrhea is an imbalance of bacterial in the gut, sometimes called intestinal imbalance. The digestive system contains a variety of "good" bacteria that...read more »

Antibiotics often causes diarrhea: The use of antibiotics are very likely to cause some level of diarrhea in patients. The reason is that antibiotics kill off not only "bad" bacteria, but can also kill the "good" bacteria in the...read more »

Food poisoning may actually be an infectious disease: Many people who come down with "stomach symptoms" like diarrhea assume that it's "something I ate" (i.e. ...read more »

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed (it can, of course, also...read more »

Celiac disease often fails to be diagnosed cause of chronic digestive symptoms: One of the most common chronic digestive conditions is celiac disease, a malabsorption disorder with a variety...read more »

Chronic digestive diseases hard to diagnose: There is an inherent difficulty in diagnosing the various types of chronic digestive diseases. Some of...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome: Research Doctors & Specialists

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

• Digestive Health Specialists (Gastroenterology):
  • Gastroenterology (Digestive Specialists)
  • Pediatric Gastroenterology (Child Digestive Health)
• more specialists...»

Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:

• Rate Your Doctor Online
• Research Your Doctor Online
• Review Patient Surveys About Your Doctor
• Research local specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Hospitals & Clinics: Irritable bowel syndrome

Research quality ratings and patient safety measures for medical facilities in specialties related to Irritable bowel syndrome:

• Digestive Health (Gastroenterology) -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more hospital ratings...»

Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » »

Choosing the Best Hospital: More general information, not necessarily in relation to Irritable bowel syndrome, on hospital performance and surgical care quality:

• 50 Best Hospitals Report
• Outstanding Patient Experinece Award Winning Hospitals
• Women's Health Best Hospitals
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study (2009)

Irritable bowel syndrome: Rare Types

Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories:

• Chronic Digestive Disorders -- Rare Types:
  • Crohn's Disease -- Rare Types
  • Ulcerative Colitis -- Rare Types
  • Celiac Disease -- Rare Types
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease -- Rare Types
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • Carcinoid Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • Pancreatitis -- Rare Types
  • Gallstones -- Rare Types
  • Lactose Intolerance -- Rare Types
• more rare diseases...»

Causes of Irritable bowel syndrome

• Emotional stress
• Bowel inflammation
• Lactose intolerance
• Fructose intolerance
• Inheritable disorders of connective tissue - Irritable bowel syndrome
• more causes...»

See full list of 7 causes of Irritable bowel syndrome

More information about causes of Irritable bowel syndrome:

• Triggers for Irritable bowel syndrome
• Underlying causes of Irritable bowel syndrome
• Irritable bowel syndrome as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Irritable bowel syndrome

Treatments for Irritable bowel syndrome

• Diet changes
  • Avoid triggering foods
  • Low-fat diet
  • High-fiber diet
  • Fiber supplements
• more treatments...»

See full list of 20 treatments for Irritable bowel syndrome

Latest Treatments for Irritable bowel syndrome

• Caffeine
• Moderation of fat intake
• Avoidance of beans, cabbage, broccoli
• 5HT4 receptor antagonist
• High fiber diet
• more treatments...»

See full list of 19 latest treatments for Irritable bowel syndrome

News Archives for Irritable bowel syndrome

Medical news articles related to Irritable bowel syndrome include:

• Allergy Disorders Linked With Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Harnessing the Mind to Manage Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Health Tip: Foods To Avoid if You Have IBS
• Colon Screenings Don't Follow Guidelines, Study Suggests
• Plan Hopes to ID Early Halt in Reproductive Function
• New Guidelines Issued for Management of IBS
• Peppermint Oil, Fiber Can Fight Irritable Bowel
• more health news...»

Source: HealthDay News

Evidence Based Medicine Research for Irritable bowel syndrome

Medical research articles related to Irritable bowel syndrome include:

• Psychological treatments for the management of irritable bowel syndrome
• Efficacy of antidepressants and psychological therapies in irritable bowel syndrome: systematic review and meta-analysis
• What is the latest evidence on whether regular ingestion of Probiotic Food/Drinks can alleviate Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
• Clinical trial: effect of active lactic acid bacteria on mucosal barrier function in patients with diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome
• Clinical trial: asimadoline in the treatment of patients with irritable bowel syndrome
• New help from the National Prescribing Centre, NICE issues guidance on irritable bowel syndrome
• Dietary interventions for recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in childhood
• Clinical trial: a multistrain probiotic preparation significantly reduces symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in a double-blind placebo-controlled study
• more research...»

Click here to find more evidence-based articles on the TRIP Database

Videos for Irritable bowel syndrome

Patient Surveys for Irritable bowel syndrome

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Irritable bowel syndrome
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Prognosis for Irritable bowel syndrome

Prognosis for Irritable bowel syndrome: Mostly good. Not usually serious or life-shortening although attacks are problematic and often recur.

More about prognosis of Irritable bowel syndrome

Reseach about Irritable bowel syndrome

Visit our research pages for current research about Irritable bowel syndrome treatments.

Clinical Trials for Irritable bowel syndrome

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Irritable bowel syndrome include:

• Phase 2 Study of MD-1100 Acetate on Gastrointestinal Transit in Patients With C-IBS - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - MD-1100 Acetate
• A Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacodynamics of DDP733 for IBS-c - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - DDP733
• Study Of Women With Severe Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome Having Failed Conventional Therapy - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Alosetron
• Investigation of the Safety and Efficacy of Renzapride in Constipation Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Renzapride
• Study In Women With Severe Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome Having Failed Conventional Therapy - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - alosetron
• more trials...»

See full list of 51 Clinical Trials for Irritable bowel syndrome

Statistics for Irritable bowel syndrome

• Medical statistics for Irritable bowel syndrome
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Irritable bowel syndrome
• Death and Mortality statistics for Irritable bowel syndrome
• Society statistics for Irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome: Broader Related Topics

• Digestive Diseases
• Chronic digestive diseases
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Bowel conditions
• more types...»

Types of Irritable bowel syndrome

Curable Types of Irritable bowel syndrome

Possibly curable types of Irritable bowel syndrome include:

• IBS in pain disorders
• Post- infectious IBS
• IBS associated with giardiasis
• IBS associated with psychological disorders
• more types...»

Rare Types of Irritable bowel syndrome:

Rare types of Irritable bowel syndrome include:

• IBS associated with pain disorders
• Post- infectious IBS
• IBS associated with giardiasis
• IBS associated with inflammatory bowel disease
• IBS associated with psychological disorders
• more types...»

Stories from Users Related to Irritable bowel syndrome

• Living without an ascending colon?
• IBS IBD STRESS blah blah
• IBS wrong diagnosis?
• Dehydration? IBS?
• Possible IBS or colitis?
• My free spirited ascending colon
• IBS? Can't stop the spasms!
• colon spasm
• Ibs?
• Irritability, fatigue, forgetfullness - Goes away with food.
• Horrible experience regadring stomache/bowel
• Irritating rash???
• gastro issues amongst others being fobbed off as ibs
• colon inflammation
• IBS symptoms + a lot more symptoms = ?
• itching and irritated
• it is not ibs... i wish someone could figure this out
• ibs?
• Is this IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome) or something else?
• Blackout but still conscious & functioning

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Irritable bowel syndrome, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

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• Tell us your medical story.
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Article Excerpts about Irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable Bowel Syndrome: NIDDK (Excerpt)

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder of the intestines that leads to crampy pain, gassiness, bloating, and changes in bowel habits. Some people with IBS have constipation (difficult or infrequent bowel movements); others have diarrhea (frequent loose stools, often with an urgent need to move the bowels); and some people experience both. Sometimes the person with IBS has a crampy urge to move the bowels but cannot do so.

Through the years, IBS has been called by many names--colitis, mucous colitis, spastic colon, spastic bowel, and functional bowel disease. Most of these terms are inaccurate. Colitis, for instance, means inflammation of the large intestine (colon). IBS, however, does not cause inflammation and should not be confused with another disorder, ulcerative colitis. (Source: excerpt from Irritable Bowel Syndrome: NIDDK)

IBS: NIDDK (Excerpt)

Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, is a problem that affects mainly the bowel, which is also called the large intestine. The bowel is the part of the digestive system that makes and stores stool. The word syndrome means a group of symptoms. IBS is a syndrome because it can cause several symptoms. For example, IBS causes cramping, bloating, gas, diarrhea, and constipation. (Source: excerpt from IBS: NIDDK)

Definitions of Irritable bowel syndrome:

A disorder with chronic or recurrent colonic symptoms without a clearcut etiology. This condition is characterized by chronic or recurrent ABDOMINAL PAIN, bloating, MUCUS in FECES, and an erratic disturbance of DEFECATION. - (Source - Diseases Database)

Recurrent abdominal pain and diarrhea (often alternating with periods of constipation); often associated with emotional stress - (Source - WordNet 2.1)

Irritable bowel syndrome is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Irritable bowel syndrome, or a subtype of Irritable bowel syndrome, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)