One and all get a stomachache or a bout of diarrhea now and then. Nevertheless for a number of people stomachaches are an expected occurrence. If you’re one of these people and you frequently feel bloated, have gas-like pains that are comforted when you go to the bathroom, or if you’re occasionally constipated and then just as quickly find yourself managing diarrhea, you may possibly have an intestinal disorder called irritable bowel syndrome.
Irritable bowel syndrome causes are rather inexplicable. Yet symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are an ordinary intestinal disorder that affects the colon (the large intestine). The colon’s major purpose is to absorb water and nutrients from partially digested food. Anything that is not absorbed is slowly moved through the colon toward the rectum and out of the body as waste in the form of feces (also called stool).
Muscles in the colon work to relieve the body’s waste products by contracting and relaxing as they push the undigested food through the large intestine. These muscles have to also work together with other muscles in the body to push the waste out of the anus. If the muscles in the colon don’t work at the right speed for appropriate digestion or if the coordination with muscles in the rectum or pelvis is somehow interrupted, the contents of the colon are not able to move along easily. When this happens, a person can feel the abdominal cramps, bloating, irritable bowel syndrome constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome diarrhea that may be signs of IBS.
The good news is that although irritable bowel syndrome pain can be uncomfortable, embarrassing, and even downright excruciating for some people, it’s not life threatening. Furthermore, unlike other digestive conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome symptoms don’t carry a risk of permanent damage to the intestines.
