IBS Treatment – What Are The Options?
IBS, or irritable bowel syndrome to give it it’s full name, is a condition affecting the bowel and intestines that is said to affect around 1 in 5 people at some point in their life. It can be an extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing condition but although it cannot be cured completely, there are ways you can treat the disease.
Before I discuss the treatment options, let me first of all discuss the symptoms of IBS. They are generally wide-ranging and differ from patient to patient, but some of the common complaints are of abdominal pains, diarrhoea, constipation, vomiting, bloating, and uncomfortable bowel movements. Basically it’s quite an uncomfortable condition to have because it can often lead to you having to make several trips to the toilet which can be quite painful due to your bowel becoming over-sensitive.
No-one really knows what causes irritable bowel syndrome but many medical professionals believe it is brought on by stress. Others think it is a result of an abnormal immune system. Whatever the cause may be, the severity of the condition can be eased considerably with the right treatment.
If you do have any of the symptoms previously mentioned, your doctor should be your first port of call. They will then examine you and give you a diagnosis, and if you do have IBS, they will advise you on what type of treatment you should consider. They will often start off by discussing your diet because by making certain changes to your dietary habits, you can go some way to reducing the severity of IBS, so things like drinking more water and increasing your daily intake of fibre will help in a lot of cases.
Your doctor may then give you specific treatments for your own particular condition. So for example, if you are suffering from diarrhoea then you may be prescribed anti-diarrheals and if you are suffering from constipation you may be prescribed laxatives. In addition you may be given medication to reduce the spasms in your bowel.
You may also be advised to take some kind of aloe vera product because aloe vera is excellent for boosting your immune system, which is argued by some to be a major contributing factor to IBS. If stress is a possible cause in your own case, then you may also be given anti-depressants and possibly advised to consider psychotherapy and hypnotherapy.
So overall although there is no outright cure for irritable bowel syndrome, there are many treatment options you can consider which will help to reduce the symptoms considerably. As a result you can start to live a normal and healthy life again.
By: James Woolley
About the Author:
Before I discuss the treatment options, let me first of all discuss the symptoms of IBS. They are generally wide-ranging and differ from patient to patient, but some of the common complaints are of abdominal pains, diarrhoea, constipation, vomiting, bloating, and uncomfortable bowel movements. Basically it’s quite an uncomfortable condition to have because it can often lead to you having to make several trips to the toilet which can be quite painful due to your bowel becoming over-sensitive.
No-one really knows what causes irritable bowel syndrome but many medical professionals believe it is brought on by stress. Others think it is a result of an abnormal immune system. Whatever the cause may be, the severity of the condition can be eased considerably with the right treatment.
If you do have any of the symptoms previously mentioned, your doctor should be your first port of call. They will then examine you and give you a diagnosis, and if you do have IBS, they will advise you on what type of treatment you should consider. They will often start off by discussing your diet because by making certain changes to your dietary habits, you can go some way to reducing the severity of IBS, so things like drinking more water and increasing your daily intake of fibre will help in a lot of cases.
Your doctor may then give you specific treatments for your own particular condition. So for example, if you are suffering from diarrhoea then you may be prescribed anti-diarrheals and if you are suffering from constipation you may be prescribed laxatives. In addition you may be given medication to reduce the spasms in your bowel.
You may also be advised to take some kind of aloe vera product because aloe vera is excellent for boosting your immune system, which is argued by some to be a major contributing factor to IBS. If stress is a possible cause in your own case, then you may also be given anti-depressants and possibly advised to consider psychotherapy and hypnotherapy.
So overall although there is no outright cure for irritable bowel syndrome, there are many treatment options you can consider which will help to reduce the symptoms considerably. As a result you can start to live a normal and healthy life again.
By: James Woolley
About the Author:
Click here for more information about aloe vera and IBS and to read a full Aloeride review.
Treating Ibs With Hypnotherapy
In bygone days, few people had ever heard of IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome
In those times, IBS was most often referred to as ‘spastic colon’ and it was a mystery to all but a few perceptive specialist practitioners who intuitively identified its psychological component.
Now, however, it is widely accepted that Irritable Bowel Syndrome, if not caused by emotions, is indeed greatly influenced by them.
Moreover, it is believed that as much as 20% of the general population experience this worrying and uncomfortable condition.
After all, when we are feeling stressed or troubled, anxious, uptight, angry or with any other unresolved emotional issue gnawing away at us, then it’s often our digestion – or our skin – that is the first to suffer.
Generally speaking, the most common symptoms of IBS include, but are not restricted to, stomach and abdominal pain, feeling bloated, constipation and/or diarrhoea and abnormal stool frequency and passage.
The usual medical response to IBS symptoms is to prescribe drugs and pharmaceuticals in an attempt to get things back in order, and these very often include anti-depressants and tranquilizers intended to alleviate the symptoms of this troublesome condition.
From the perspective of the experienced holistic practitioner, though, Irritable Bowel Syndrome is simply the body’s call for help; it is a cry to action in order to address the underlying reasons for its existence.
This being the case, it is crucial that we understand that Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a message – or, more correctly perhaps, a series of messages – designed to grab our attention so that we do something about the reason for the existence of these symptoms.
In fact, the symptoms are a clear call to action.
In any treatment of IBS, we need to re-appraise what we put into our bodies, with coffee, chocolate, carbonated beverages and red meat either eliminated entirely or consumed only in small quantities.
We may, of course, choose to re-introduce some of these things at a later time, when the IBS has been taken care of and when we can objectively observe and monitor the results of doing this. Or perhaps we will decide that we are better served by permanently eliminating these things and simply enjoying the many other delicious foods and beverages available to us.
Soluble fibre, which can be purchased at most health food or drug stores in the convenient form of psyllium husks has also been shown to be of help with this condition, though such supplementation is not advised when chronic diarrhoea is present.
But it’s the emotions that really need to be treated in order to bring about real and lasting relief for IBS.
Emotional and mental tension, stress, anger, guilt, or any other negative emotion can so easily stimulate intestinal spasms which may produce and intensify the condition.
Indeed, it is the emotions – and the influence of our own mind over our emotions – that really holds the key to true IBS relief. And it is here that properly conducted transformational hypnotherapy can prove so effective.
With expertly applied transformational hypnotherapy, the drivers and negative concepts generated by the subconscious mind can be neutralized and replaced with more useful and helpful ones.
The simple fact is that irritable bowel syndrome will not disappear overnight. Yet even long-term sufferers of this truly troublesome condition can accomplish real improvement and a feeling of overall well being. And this, needless to say, is a sound basis for any long term cure of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
If you or someone you know suffers from the troublesome condition known as Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS, real help is available.
Advanced transformational hypnotherapy may very well hold the solution that you are looking for.
By: Peter James Field
About the Author:
In those times, IBS was most often referred to as ‘spastic colon’ and it was a mystery to all but a few perceptive specialist practitioners who intuitively identified its psychological component.
Now, however, it is widely accepted that Irritable Bowel Syndrome, if not caused by emotions, is indeed greatly influenced by them.
Moreover, it is believed that as much as 20% of the general population experience this worrying and uncomfortable condition.
After all, when we are feeling stressed or troubled, anxious, uptight, angry or with any other unresolved emotional issue gnawing away at us, then it’s often our digestion – or our skin – that is the first to suffer.
Generally speaking, the most common symptoms of IBS include, but are not restricted to, stomach and abdominal pain, feeling bloated, constipation and/or diarrhoea and abnormal stool frequency and passage.
The usual medical response to IBS symptoms is to prescribe drugs and pharmaceuticals in an attempt to get things back in order, and these very often include anti-depressants and tranquilizers intended to alleviate the symptoms of this troublesome condition.
From the perspective of the experienced holistic practitioner, though, Irritable Bowel Syndrome is simply the body’s call for help; it is a cry to action in order to address the underlying reasons for its existence.
This being the case, it is crucial that we understand that Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a message – or, more correctly perhaps, a series of messages – designed to grab our attention so that we do something about the reason for the existence of these symptoms.
In fact, the symptoms are a clear call to action.
In any treatment of IBS, we need to re-appraise what we put into our bodies, with coffee, chocolate, carbonated beverages and red meat either eliminated entirely or consumed only in small quantities.
We may, of course, choose to re-introduce some of these things at a later time, when the IBS has been taken care of and when we can objectively observe and monitor the results of doing this. Or perhaps we will decide that we are better served by permanently eliminating these things and simply enjoying the many other delicious foods and beverages available to us.
Soluble fibre, which can be purchased at most health food or drug stores in the convenient form of psyllium husks has also been shown to be of help with this condition, though such supplementation is not advised when chronic diarrhoea is present.
But it’s the emotions that really need to be treated in order to bring about real and lasting relief for IBS.
Emotional and mental tension, stress, anger, guilt, or any other negative emotion can so easily stimulate intestinal spasms which may produce and intensify the condition.
Indeed, it is the emotions – and the influence of our own mind over our emotions – that really holds the key to true IBS relief. And it is here that properly conducted transformational hypnotherapy can prove so effective.
With expertly applied transformational hypnotherapy, the drivers and negative concepts generated by the subconscious mind can be neutralized and replaced with more useful and helpful ones.
The simple fact is that irritable bowel syndrome will not disappear overnight. Yet even long-term sufferers of this truly troublesome condition can accomplish real improvement and a feeling of overall well being. And this, needless to say, is a sound basis for any long term cure of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
If you or someone you know suffers from the troublesome condition known as Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS, real help is available.
Advanced transformational hypnotherapy may very well hold the solution that you are looking for.
By: Peter James Field
About the Author:
Peter Field is one of Britain’s leading practitioners of hypno-psychotherapy. He holds clinics in Birmingham and in London, UK. Peter is a Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Health. More of his interesting articles and information on hypnotherapy for IBS can be found on his website: Peter Field Hypnotherapy Hypnosis
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