Causes of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and How to Overcome It

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a bowel disorder characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, or recurring constipation. Recognizing the causes and how to deal with IBS properly can help reduce the frequency of recurrence. Irritable bowel syndrome can occur to anyone, 10-20% of adults are thought to have experienced this disease. The appearance of IBS symptoms is associated with various factors, such as intestinal innervation, consumption of certain foods or drinks, to the influence of hormones. IBS symptoms are not the same for everyone. Some have diarrhea, constipation, or both. Symptoms can also rarely appear, can also very often interfere with daily activities.

Risk Factors for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

The cause of irritable bowel syndrome is uncertain. Even so, there are some things that are known to trigger IBS symptoms, namely:

1. Foods that contain gluten

Some IBS patients experience improvement in symptoms and become less frequent relapses after undergoing a gluten-free diet. Some people just can't digest gluten properly. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. Examples of foods that contain gluten are cereals, pasta, and processed food products.

2. Foods with carbohydrates that are difficult to digest

This group of difficult-to-digest carbohydrates is called FODMAP. Usually contained in apples, cherries, mangoes, pears, watermelons, asparagus, cabbage, cabbage, beans, onions, mushrooms, and milk and its processed products, such as cheese, yogurt, or ice cream. In addition, honey and candy with artificial sweetener xylitol or mannitol also include foods that contain carbohydrates.

3. Certain drinks

Several types of drinks can affect bowel movements. In IBS patients, this can trigger recurrence of symptoms. Drinks that often trigger IBS recurrence are drinks that contain caffeine, alcohol, or soda.

4. Gastrointestinal infections

Viral or bacterial infections in the gastrointestinal tract, such as gastroenteritis, can cause IBS symptoms. This is suspected because gastrointestinal infections affect bowel movements and the balance of the number of bacteria in them.

5. Psychological problems

Many IBS sufferers more often experience relapses with worse symptoms when under stress. Depression, somatoform disorders, and anxiety can also cause IBS symptoms to worsen or recur frequently. This is allegedly because mental disorders can affect the performance of the brain and nerves in the digestive tract, so it becomes more sensitive.

6. Hormonal changes

IBS symptoms appear more often in women, especially before or during menstruation. This disease is thought to be related to the influence of the hormone estrogen.

How to Overcome Irritable Bowel Syndrome

To relieve symptoms and prevent recurrence of IBS, there are a number of things that can be done, namely:

Avoid foods that are triggers

Avoid foods that trigger IBS symptoms, especially foods that contain gluten and FODMAP carbohydrates. Because IBS symptoms can be different for each person, it is recommended that you find out what foods can trigger your IBS symptoms.

Eating fibrous food

There are two types of fiber, which is water soluble fiber and water insoluble fiber. A good type of fiber to reduce IBS symptoms is water-soluble fiber. An example of a source of water soluble fiber is oat But be careful, consuming excessive fiber can worsen heartburn and bloating. Therefore, it is advisable to increase the amount of fiber in food gradually gradually until the intestine gets used.

Eat regularly

Avoid skipping meals. Always try to eat at the same time every day to help smooth bowel movements.

Exercise regularly

Exercise can help reduce stress and stimulate bowel movements. According to research, IBS patients who exercise regularly are less likely to experience a relapse of symptoms.

Reducing stress

Stress is proven to cause IBS symptoms to recur frequently. So it's important to always minimize stress. You can do this with relaxation exercises, yoga, or meditation, and enough sleep.

Take probiotics

Probiotics are good bacteria that help protect the intestines from bad bacteria. Probiotics can be found in supplement form. Several studies have shown that probiotics can relieve abdominal pain and bloating in IBS patients.

Taking medicine

If IBS symptoms are very annoying or often recur, then you need to overcome them with medication. Doctors can provide antidiarrheal drugs, laxatives, painkillers, to antidepressants and additional supplements to relieve symptoms. Irritable bowel syndrome is a digestive disorder whose cause is unknown, so the treatment is difficult to determine. But by avoiding trigger foods, maintaining fiber intake, and changing lifestyle to be healthier, the frequency of IBS recurrence can be reduced. If symptoms of abdominal pain, diarrhea, or constipation feel worse than usual or accompanied by bloody bowel movements, immediately consult a doctor to ascertain the cause and get treatment.