In our last health feed, we discussed Constipation, where there is difficulty in passing stools. Today, we will focus on Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Both Constipation and IBS are digestive disorders and have different symptoms and treatments. In simple words, IBS is a blend of constipation and frequent urge to pass stools, which is less than diarrhoea but more than constipation. The most prominent symptom of IBS is the urge to pass stools more than three times a day. In this condition, faeces may be soft, hard, scattered or not well-formed.

IBS is most common in people with a sedentary lifestyle, especially amongst those who have shift duties, who have erratic meals schedules. Biologically our mind & body needs to rest for 7-8 hours/night, but because of this busy schedules, meetings, night jobs have taken away sound sleep. Mental stress and sleeplessness have a direct impact on our digestive system. IBS may also be caused due to food allergies. People with gluten intolerance experience IBS most commonly. Homoeopathy has proven results in IBS in comparison to modern medicines. Every person has a different digestive system and lifestyle, and hence in a homoeopathic treatment, medicines are custom made to tackle the issues of a person causing IBS. But IBS takes time to cure completely and hence, one needs to be disciplined to take the full course of medication, and this could be anything between 6-8 months, depending upon how acute the condition is.      

Few food items which people suffering from IBS must avoid include White Flour/maida, deep fried items, red meat and alcohol. A regular routine of physical activity in the form of a walk, gym or yoga would also be very helpful.