by Patrick Mccormack

Created on: May 01, 2008

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders. Symptoms of IBS can occur in any part of your gastrointestinal tract, which stretches from the esophagus through to the rectum. The reference of irritable' describes the reaction of the muscles within the intestine responding to stress by abnormal contractions. The syndrome itself consists of 5 main features:

1) Abdominal pain, relived by defecation
2) Abdominal tightness and enlargement
3) Sensation of incomplete evacuation of the bowel
4) More frequent or looser stools with the onset of abdominal pain
5) Passage of mucus within the stools

Symptoms of IBS vary in number and affect people in differing ways commonly:
Painful constipation
Diarrhea
Swelling of the abdomen with wind
Unpredictable, erratic bowel actions varying daily

People who suffer from IBS experience many differing symptoms but this can affect more than just their bodies. It can affect their daily lives and sufferers find that they avoid certain activities such as work, travel and socialising. Every person also suffers differently from the disorder. The main cause of the syndrome is the disordered contractions of the bowel muscle. Why is it though some people develop this functional disorder and others do not? The exact reason for this is unknown however there are key factors that seem to be associated with the disease:
Psychological factors
Abnormal activity of the muscles and nerves
Increased sensitivity of the gut
Food intolerance, diet and food allergy
Gastrointestinal infections

Studies have found that the onset of the disease can be linked to psychological conditions normally after a period of extreme stress. Depression can cause the passage of waste through the gut to be slower than normal whereas anxiety can speed up the process causing an individual to pass stools more often. This is caused by the mood of the person influencing the nerves associated with the bowel wall muscles. The sympathetic nervous system speeds us the passage of matter causing diarrhea. Affecting the vagus nerve however slows down the passage causing constipation. Gastrointestinal infections can also be a common trigger of IBS; common causes of these infections are from food poisoning by bacteria such as campylobacter. If an individual has suffered a long-term amount of anxiety and then is exposed to one of these infections then the patient may suffer from the symptoms for a more prolonged period of time.

People may have IBS brought about from the

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