Doctors | Health And Wellness Tips

The Unknown Cause Of IBS

Not many people know about irritable bowel syndrome. Perhaps because not much is known about it despite the fact that it affects a lot of people. In fact, statistics in the United States have shown that one out of five people suffer from irritable bowel syndrome. That is roughly about 20 percent of the population. That is pretty prevalent for a disease that is not so known.

In fact, most doctors believe that the numbers should be even higher. The lack of information has contributed to a lot of misdiagnosis and under diagnosis. Patients, it seems, do not even know that they have irritable bowel syndrome until after a few years when the symptoms are already getting out of hand.

With irritable bowel syndrome, the symptoms are often mild. In fact, among patients suffering from the disorder, about 70 percent of them only have mild symptoms at the onset. This is the reason why the problem is not detected early on.

Irritable bowel syndrome does not have a specific cause. Up until now, doctors cannot still pinpoint what causes the problem in the first place. Although much research has already been done about, there is still no clear cut answer as to what exactly starts off the problem. One existing theory in the medical profession is that people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome have very sensitive large intestines or colon. Because of this increased sensitiveness, minor changes in the chemicals and substances that enter the chamber sets off a series of reactions that affect the movement of bowel in the body. Another possibility is the role of stress in the problem.

This happens when stress brings on changes with how the body responds and work internally. Although stress is not the cause, many still believe that easing stress can significantly improve the condition. This is true. In fact, some doctors also recommend undergoing some psychotherapy to help the patient deal with some of the stressors in his life. Another triggering factor that are being researched upon are milk and other milk products that are said to often trigger irritable bowel syndrome.

Because irritable bowel syndrome has no specific cause, diagnosis often relies on the account of symptoms that come from the patient was well as the medical history. There is no specific test that can detect the occurrence of irritable bowel syndrome. The most that doctors do is to make sure that other problems are not causing the symptoms. Hence, they will give you a number of tests designed to test other diseases and not irritable bowel syndrome.

Do You Have Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome is perhaps one of the hardest to diagnose especially if the symptoms are mild that few people think that they even exist at all. But the symptoms are there.

Most cases of irritable bowel syndrome are actually not reported probably because most people will not be able to connect this kind of problem with a dysfunction in the bowel system, the part which takes care of the storage and excretion of solid wastes of the body. Because of its strong connection with body wastes, most people are quick to dismiss the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome as something brought about by the food that they ate or the time that they ate their food. But this is not the case.

Unlike diarrhea which is caused by a bacteria that people have ingested accidentally, irritable bowel syndrome is not a disease or an illness. It is a body dysfunction that is often associated with overly sensitive bowel areas. Slightest movement can trigger contractions that may lead to constipation. Sometimes, nerves are also affected that diarrhea occurs.

There is actually no known cause for Irritable bowel syndrome. Up until now, medical experts have not yet come up with answers to the question on where it comes from. All they know is that stress and food can sometimes trigger an attack.

Diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome is dependent on the symptoms present. Symptoms should be detected accurately as doctors often base their diagnosis on the symptoms alone.

In irritable bowel syndrome, there is often abdominal pain and bloating. These are the main symptoms of IBS. The rest of the other symptoms are only there to lend support to the diagnosis. Remember that there is actually no test that can confirm diagnosis. Oftentimes, the doctor will rely on the staff to get some results.

Constipation and diarrhea are actually only secondary symptoms. People suffering from irritable bowel syndrome may have infrequent bowel excretion. If course, as to what degree, the problem depends on the person as symptoms may vary from one to another. Some find it hard to excrete their wastes while others cannot excrete them at all. Mucus, a substance that moistens the passageway of bowels in the body may also be found with the excretion. There are also some who suffer from diarrhea instead of constipation. With this condition, the person will have frequent watery stools.

Spotting the Difference between Low Back Pain and Kidney Pain

Questions frequently arise when pain in the back occurs. Oftentimes, the sufferers and even the physicians themselves are not certain of the actual site of the pain’s origin. Since lower back pain radiates into the other sections of the body, people tend to become unsure of how to provide initial relief on themselves and how would doctors diagnose the condition. This is quite misleading and physicians who cannot find the exact location of the pain dismiss the case and assume that it is more of psychological rather than physiological.

To further complicate things, we may never really find the actual site of pain and the primary cause that triggered the pain. Let us assume that it really is a back pain, say in the lower back. We could have given treatment on this but what if it really was not originally a lower back pain. What if it rooted from the kidneys? What if the pain is actually a manifestation of kidney complications? How then would you tell the difference?

Though this may seem like an oversimplification, let us establish still that lower back kidney pain is more concentrated on the areas where the kidneys lie. That is located slightly above the hips and positioned next to the spine. Any injury created on the surface of the back that is directly covering the area where the kidneys are founded may have adverse effect on the kidneys themselves. This is the reason why trauma or any excessive force over the area is betterly recognized as “kidney punch” rather than lower back pain.

Kidney pain is directly linked to the organ itself but may usually manifest as lower back pain. It is acute in origin because the pain typically starts rapidly but may develop into chronic pain over time. However, the pain will only last as long as the kidney is infected. Chronic pain on the other hand is usually caused by the trauma on the back.

If initial symptoms will be used as the basis for diagnosing lower back kidney pain, evidences are clear that they show similarities with lower back pain. Yet a traumatized back is not relatively painful when pushed directly on the region of the kidney. But there are other indications that may show clear distinctions between lower back kidney pain and kidney pain alone. These may include painful urination, chills and fever, and presence of blood in the urine.

With the initial signs of lower back kidney pain, it is commonly advised that the patient sees his or her doctor immediately. To provide treatment plan as early as possible

Back Pain Remedies for Excruciating Pain

Majority of people often experience back pain at some point in their lives. The reason may be vague and there are cases that the causes are undefined. However, some experts would agree that one of the typical causes of back pain is muscle imbalance.

Throughout the day, most Americans would only spend time sitting and not moving. And frequently, the activities we perform often lead us to the couch and the desks. That’s all there is to it. And so to add mobility to our bodies, we go to the gyms and make the imbalance even more severe.

The first step to back pain remedy is to identify the muscle imbalance in our body. These pull our bones, joints and spine in some places out of their natural locations. Then stretch the tight and often not used muscles to strengthen to reinstate strength.

It is normally not easy to identify what trigger muscle imbalances. But with some basic knowledge on how the body system works, it may well be easier to observe which muscles are better used than others and where does the body typically hurts.

Or you may choose to use other methods other than focusing on the imbalances of the muscles without going too far from exercising. One such option is the yoga. In opposition with the first back pain remedy we discussed, yoga needs to be thoroughly understood. One needs to have a good foundation on the background of this art and how does it work. And restrictions must be carefully observed.

There is a host of methods for treating back pain, ranging from conventional methods and alternative therapies. Whatever way one wants it to be, the result may always be affected by psychological expectations and beliefs on the outcome. Say in acupuncture, doctors may claim that it works for some and not for others. How is this? Probably because people may believe in the effects of the said method but may not actually be the case for all. We are not raising arguments on this issue; we are just presenting what is factual. Nor are we proving that contemporary medicine works more efficiently than that of the more traditional methods. Anything that works well for the patients will continue on working well. Unless other factors impede it.

The thing is it really doesn’t matter what back pain remedy we use, we only have to seek for what is effective and which of them creates more productive results. In this, it might be true that the end justifies the means.