What Treatments Are There For Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?
Because IBS doesn’t have a known cause and the symptoms vary from one person to the next, different treatments work for different people. So it’s a matter of trial and error between doctor and that individual patient. Dietary changes are favoured over prescribed drugs as treatment, although the two measures may work well together, too. Some people find their IBS eases if they cut out fibre from the diet completely for a spell; others do better if they start eating more fibre, including medicinal fibre supplements. There are drugs that may be prescribed to ease the pain of IBS. These mostly work to reduce spasm in the wall of the bowel. Some of these work directly on the muscles of the bowel, others work via the nervous system. Drugs that may reduce the spasms include mebeverine, and oncentrated peppermint oil (given in a capsule form). Drugs that reduce diarrhoea are often helpful, but these aren’t effective for people suffering occasional constipation, and some may be addictive (codei
