How To Calm An Ibs Flare Up
By: Anna|Published on: May 9, 2021|Categories: IBS|
It can be so frustrating to be stopped in your tracks by an IBS flare up. Perhaps your belly has swelled up so you look pregnant, or youre rushing to the loo every 10 minutes so cant leave the house. Read below for my tips on how to support your body and mind during a flare up of your irritable bowel symptoms.
Urgent Advice: See Your Gp Urgently If:
You have other symptoms, including:
- a change in your bowel habits that has lasted for more than six weeks, especially if you are over 50 years of age
- unexplained weight loss
- a swelling or lump in your stomach or back passage
- bleeding from your back passage
These can sometimes be a sign of a potentially more serious condition.
You should also tell your GP if you have these symptoms and a family history of bowel cancer or ovarian cancer.
About Our Health Information
At Bupa we produce a wealth of free health information for you and your family. This is because we believe that trustworthy information is essential in helping you make better decisions about your health and wellbeing.
Our information has been awarded the PIF TICK for trustworthy health information. It also follows the principles of the The Information Standard.
Read Also: Can Align Probiotic Cause Nausea
Also Check: Soy Milk Upset Stomach
How Is Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treated
There’s no cure for IBS. But many things can help reduce IBS symptoms, including:
- Changes in eating. Some kids find that careful eating helps reduce or get rid of IBS symptoms. Your child might have to avoid milk and dairy products, caffeine, gassy foods, or other foods that seem to bring on problems. Eating smaller, more frequent meals also might help.
- Changes in lifestyle. If IBS is tied to stress, talk about what your child can do to manage pressures related to school, home, or friends.
- Regular exercise. Exercise can help digestion. It’s also a great stress reliever.
- Medicines. Doctors sometimes prescribe medicines to treat diarrhea, constipation, or cramps. Antidepressants may help some people with pain management and depression. Talk with your doctor before giving your child any over-the-counter medicines for diarrhea, constipation, cramps, or other digestive problems.
- Counseling and coping strategies. If your child seems very anxious or depressed, your doctor might recommend seeing a psychologist or therapist. Therapy, hypnosis, breathing exercises, or other relaxation techniques can help some people manage IBS.
IBS can affect your child’s quality of life. Talk with your doctor about ways to manage it to help your child lead an active and healthy life.
What Is A Functional Gi Disorder
IBS is a type of functional gastrointestinal disorder. These conditions, also called disorders of the gut-brain interaction, have to do with problems in how your gut and brain work together.
These problems cause your digestive tract to be very sensitive. They also change how your bowel muscles contract. The result is abdominal pain, diarrhea and constipation.
Read Also: Can Prilosec Cause Back Pain
Easing Bloating And Cramping
IBS can cause bloating or cramps after eating. There are some things you can do which will ease any bloating or cramping you may have. These include:
- eating small but regular meals
- eating oats regularly
- avoiding foods that are hard to digest such as cauliflower and Brussels sprouts
- exercising regularly
Secondary Emotional Symptoms Of Ibs
Another factor to consider is the secondary emotional symptoms that may occur with IBS. IBS can be an embarrassing and stressful condition you may experience significant anxiety and depression as a direct result.
If your emotional symptoms develop due to being disabled by your IBS, these can be included to support your disability claim.
However, it will be vital for your doctor to make clear to your insurance company that your emotional symptoms are secondary to and resulting from your IBS. Otherwise your insurance company may try to characterize your Crohns disease as a mental illness. In most long term disability insurance policies, benefits paid due to mental illness disabilities are limited to 12-24 months meaning you would only receive benefits for up to two years at most, regardless of whether you remain totally disabled beyond that time.
Read Also: Allergic To Lettuce Diarrhea
What Are The Symptoms Of Ibs
The term IBS is given to a range of symptoms that affect the stomach and bowel. Symptoms include:
- Stomach pain
- Feeling tired and drained of energy
- Nausea
- Backache
IBS affects each person differently, and at different times. You may experience one of these symptoms during one flare up and another symptom during a different flare up. For example, you may have a few days or weeks where youre constipated followed by a few days or weeks when you have diarrhoea.
The stomach pain caused by IBS is often relieved by passing a stool. Sometimes, you may not be able to control when you need to pass stools, and this can be a very distressing and socially isolating symptom. Having regular diarrhoea can also make you dehydrated and fatigued.
Blood in the stools, particularly bright red, fresh blood, can be a sign that you have haemorrhoids, also known as piles. But it can also be a sign of something more serious such as bowel cancer, especially if youre bleeding from your bottom and losing weight without trying to, so speak to your GP as soon as possible if you notice blood in your stools.
Living Well While Aging With Ibs
Most people with IBS deal with it for a lifetime. Find out how aging with IBS means finding ways to identify your triggers and control your symptoms over time.
Unlike some childhood ailments, irritable bowel syndrome isn’t something you grow out of. But, you can find ways to better live with the condition, often called IBS. It’s considered a functional digestion disorder, meaning the symptoms of IBS are caused by changes in how your digestive system functions, not by a disease of the digestive system. Unlike inflammatory bowel disease , IBS does not cause bleeding, swelling, or damage to your digestive system.
IBS is extraordinarily common in fact, it is one of the most common complaints seen by doctors,” said David Bernstein, MD, chairman of the department of gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition at the North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y. “It includes a wide range of symptoms like bloating, pain, constipation, and diarrhea. People with IBS have different triggers and different symptoms. The good news is that lifestyle changes, diet modifications, and medications can usually control the symptoms, and IBS does not lead to serious problems.
Also Check: Nausea Heartburn Indigestion Upset Stomach
Gas And Bloating Within 90 Minutes Of Eating
Intestinal gas and bloating are common IBS symptoms. The timing of the these symptoms, though, is important.
Carbohydrates are substances in food that provide your body with energy. They include sugars, starches, and fiber. It usually takes about 90 minutes for undigested carbohydrates to reach your large intestine.
Once there, gut bacteria start breaking them down. This is called fermentation. Fermentation produces gas.
You should not start to feel gassy before that 90-minute mark. If you do, it could be because you have too much bacteria in your small intestine.
This condition is called small intestinal bacterial overgrowth . SIBO is diagnosed with a hydrogen breath test. It can be treated with select antibiotics.
If you experience gas and bloating within 1.5 hours of eating, talk to your doctor. This doesn’t necessarily mean your doctor was wrong about your IBS. It just means it might be worthwhile to be tested for SIBO.
Causes Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Its not clear exactly why some people develop irritable bowel syndrome . But there seem to be several changes that happen to your bowel and lead to symptoms.
- Your bowel may be more sensitive than normal and over-react to certain foods or other factors such as emotional stress.
- Your body may be more sensitive to pain coming from inside your bowel.
- There may be changes to the microbes living in your bowel.
- There are changes in how food moves through your digestive tract.
Overall, there seems to be a combination of factors that affect both your brain and your bowel, and the interaction between the two. This is sometimes known as the brain-gut connection. It can explain why things like stress may trigger symptoms.
Although its not fully understood why someone might develop IBS, the condition is often associated with:
- a bout of food poisoning or gastroenteritis
- inflammation as a result of another condition such as inflammatory bowel disease
- taking certain medicines that affect your bowel, including antibiotics
- previous traumatic experiences such as abuse
With our GP services, we aim to give you an appointment the same day, subject to availability. Find out more about our GP services >
Don’t Miss: Salad And Diarrhea
Will I Need A Colonoscopy
Depending on your symptoms, medical history and other factors, your provider may recommend a flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy to examine your colon in more detail. These two outpatient procedures are similar. The difference is that a sigmoidoscopy examines just the lower half of the colon. A colonoscopy examines the entire colon.
A flexible sigmoidoscopy can help evaluate bowel disorders, rectal bleeding or polyps. Your provider will:
Heres what you can expect during a colonoscopy. Your provider will:
Often, providers can make an accurate diagnosis and even deliver treatment using a colonoscopy. A colonoscopy is a much less invasive procedure compared to an abdominal operation.
How Bad And How Long Can An Ibs Flare Up Last
paul75665
Hi All
Just after some fellow IBS sufferers experiences during a flare up to compare with my latest flare up, which was quite a bad one for me. For your information I suffer with IBS-A but I generally suffer more with IBS-C symptoms, although I generally feel worse when I experience bouts of IBS-D.
My latest flare up started Wednesday evening and only now do I feel like I’m starting to get back to normal, so that makes a total of about 3 days. My flare ups tend to last anywhere between 3 to 10 days, so the length of time this latest one has gone on for seems quite normal for me, I’m wondering if this sounds like a normal length of time to experience a flare up?
The more worrying issue is how my flare ups actually make me feel. When they hit the reaction is usually quite quick to come on, I get very bloated and burp a lot, I also get a lot of sharp, random abdominal and chest pains and cramping. I also get this lump feeling in my throat and I physically feel like I’m struggling to draw breath. My heart rate tends to increase, and I also get this dizzy, lightheaded, wobbly feeling come over me in waves, I also feel like I could just fall asleep at any moment. My flare ups really do make me feel really unwell, and at points very worried. I’d be very grateful to hear experiences of others IBS flare ups, and to hear whether the symptoms I experience are likely to be the result of my IBS flare ups?
Many thanks in advance.
Recommended Reading: Side Effects Of Baking Soda For Heartburn
Diagnosis And Management Of Ibs In Adults
THAD WILKINS, MD CHRISTA PEPITONE, MD BIJU ALEX, MD and ROBERT R. SCHADE, MD, Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta, Georgia
Am Fam Physician. 2012 Sep 1 86:419-426.
Irritable bowel syndrome is defined as abdominal discomfort or pain associated with altered bowel habits for at least three days per month in the previous three months, with the absence of organic disease. In North America, the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome is 5 to 10 percent with peak prevalence from 20 to 39 years of age. Abdominal pain is the most common symptom and often is described as a cramping sensation. The absence of abdominal pain essentially excludes irritable bowel syndrome. Other common symptoms include diarrhea, constipation, or alternating diarrhea and constipation. The goals of treatment are symptom relief and improved quality of life. Exercise, antibiotics, antispasmodics, peppermint oil, and probiotics appear to improve symptoms. Over-the-counter laxatives and antidiarrheals may improve stool frequency but not pain. Treatment with antidepressants and psychological therapies are also effective for improving symptoms compared with usual care. Lubiprostone is effective for the treatment of constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, and alosetron and tegaserod are approved for patients with severe symptoms in whom conventional therapy has been ineffective.
SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE
The absence of abdominal pain can be used to rule out IBS.
Possible Causes Of Ibs
While we do not know for sure what causes IBS, it is a multifactorial disorder that likely involves an interaction between the GI tract, bacteria in the gut, the nervous system, and external factors, such as stress.
Although not proven, theories exist as to factors that influence IBS symptoms, including:
- neurological hyper-sensitivity within the GI nerves
- physical and/or emotional stress
- the amount or pattern of physical exercise
- chronic alcohol abuse
- abnormalities in GI secretions and/or digestive muscle contractions
- acute infection or inflammation of the intestine , such as travellers diarrhea, which may precede onset of IBS symptoms
The GI system is very sensitive to adrenalin the hormone released when one is excited, fearful, or anxious and to other hormones as well. Changes in female hormone levels also affect the GI tract, so IBS symptoms may worsen at specific times throughout the menstrual cycle. Since these hormones can affect the transit time of food through the digestive tract, this might account for the predominance of IBS in women, although direct evidence is still lacking.
It is important to note that since there is no definitive proof of the source of IBS, many promoted potential causes and advertised cures of this syndrome are simply speculation.
Also Check: Lettuce Digestion Problems
Vomiting On A Regular Basis
Vomiting is not a symptom of IBS. When people who have IBS experience nausea and vomiting, it is not because of their IBS.
There are many health conditions that can cause vomiting.
If you experience frequent vomiting, tell your doctor. If you are having uncontrollable vomiting or are vomiting up blood, see a doctor at once.
Vomiting that does not happen with other signs of disease could be a condition called cyclic vomiting disorder . If you have vomiting without other symptoms, talk to your doctor.
What Should You Eat And Drink After An Ibs Attack
Conventional wisdom states that when sick with stomach issues, you should stick to the BRAT Diet of bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. But you’re not just limited to these four things when you have an IBS attack.
If you think you are experiencing a bout of irritable bowel syndrome, it’s crucial to adapt a safe and healthy IBS diet:
- Apples
You May Like: Can Birth Control Give You Heartburn
What Causes Ibs Flare Ups
An IBS flare up can last anywhere from a few hours to months. Some things that may cause a flare up are stress, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Eating trigger foods or FODMAPs can also cause IBS flare ups.
A gastrointestinal infection may also cause IBS flare ups and worsen the other symptoms.
There are quite a few typical symptoms of an IBS flare up, which include:
-
Bloating or swelling of the abdomen.
-
Excessive gas.
Pain Unrelated To Bowel Movements
In people with IBS, the criteria for diagnosis says abdominal pain should be related to bowel movements.
Many IBS patients say this is not always true. But for the most part, people with IBS feel like their pain has something to do with their diarrhea or constipation.
If you have pain you don’t think is related to your bowel movements, talk to your doctor. It may still be IBS, but it is worth looking at other possibilities.
If you have an IBS diagnosis but you think your pain is not typical of IBS, talk to your doctor at once. Persistent pain should always be evaluated by a doctor.
Don’t Miss: Calprotectin Vs Lactoferrin
Diagnosing And Managing Ibs
Diagnosis of IBS at any age is made by a review of the symptoms and by ruling out more serious causes,” Bernstein said. “We dont know the exact cause of IBS, but it probably has something to do with motility and digestion. It is not all in your head.” As for treatment, he described it as “a bit of trial and error it’s not one-size-fits-all.
Adults and children with IBS probably have overly sensitive nerves on the inner walls of their digestive system. You get symptoms of cramps, diarrhea, or constipation when food moves along, thanks to waves of muscular contractions called peristalsis. Some foods may be a trigger or stress can be, but the triggers are not the same for everyone.
Doctors will typically make an IBS diagnosis if you’ve had symptoms for six months and on at least three days a month for the last three months. Symptoms should not include fever, bleeding, anemia, or weight loss, which could indicate another condition rather than IBS.
To manage IBS, consider:
Diet changes. Some foods that trigger IBS symptoms include milk products, high-fat foods, and high-gas-producing foods. One good way to find your food triggers is to keep a food diary. In general, it’s best to eat smaller, more frequent meals. Adding fiber to the diet often helps prevent symptoms, said Bernstein.