Irritable bowel is a chronic disorder of the digestive tract very frequent in the population and constitutes one of the most frequent consultations to the Digestive System specialists. There is no underlying organic disease but it causes a significant impairment of the quality of life of patients, due to a highly variable range of digestive symptoms.
Causes of irritable bowel
The exact causes of the disorder are not known. There are several theories to try to explain the origin, such as alterations of neurotransmitters involved in intestinal motility, alterations of the bacterial flora, alterations of the visceral sensitivity, etc. However, no one knows yet what is the true cause of this disorder.
Symptoms usually experienced by the patient with irritable bowel and affectation in daily life.
The symptoms usually provoke, to a greater or lesser extent, affectation of the quality of life of the patients, causing absenteeism from work, fear of eating, affectation of social relationships, etc. But this disorder will not lead to future illnesses.
The symptoms are very varied among patients, but include abdominal pain, abdominal distension, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation, appearance of mucus in the stool, among others.
Diagnosis of irritable bowel
There is no specific test that can diagnose irritable bowel. What should be performed are diagnostic tests to rule out other pathologies and these include blood tests, stool tests, radiological and endoscopic tests, depending on the patient’s symptoms.
Treatment of irritable bowel, is it a chronic disease without cure?
The treatment of irritable bowel will depend on the symptomatology. It includes hygienic dietary measures, such as the intake of fiber in the diet, eating at least five meals a day, chewing food very slowly, physical exercise, etc.
From the pharmacological point of view, prokinetics, spasmolytics, probiotics, analgesics, etc. can be used. And sometimes benzodiazepines and antidepressants are used, which have shown clinical improvement in these patients.
As the basis of the treatment, it is essential to reassure and understand the patient, explaining in the consultation what his pathology is and the absence of development of future intestinal diseases. Sometimes, when accompanied by anxiety disorder and/or depression, psychotherapy has been effective in controlling symptoms.
It is a chronic disease with which the patient must learn to live and usually occurs in episodes that may be more or less long and that will require seasonal treatment.
Result of the treatment of irritable bowel
As with any chronic disease, the effectiveness of the treatments is very variable and, on occasions, it is very difficult to achieve an improvement in the patient’s quality of life, which is what is sought with the treatments.