Tag: irritable bowel syndrome

Constipation in Children

Constipation is a condition of improper bowel movement. Usually the child experiences pain and has a hard time passing dry and hard stool. In normal condition there is no pain while passing the stool and it has a soft texture. The bowel movement is also regular. A child having constipation not only finds it difficult to pass stool, but at times will feel the urge to pass and when he goes to the toilet, he cannot relive himself.

The digestive system is responsible from the intake of the food to the smooth passage of waste. The food or fluids are consumed from the mouth, which heads towards the stomach via the food pipe. After the stomach treats the food with acid, it passes on to the small intestines and then to the large intestines, also known as bowels. The final stage of food digestion is the outlet through of the waste through the anus and rectum. During the whole processing, the body parts absorb nutrients and water from the food supplied to them. The left over matter comes out as waste.

It is a myth among some people who say that an individual is constipated if he or she doesnt pass stool on a daily basis. But the truth is that the bathroom habit differs from one individual to other. So if constipation is to be checked the regular pattern of bathroom habit of that particular individual must be checked and the comparisons must not be made with the other.

Other than not passing stool regularly, the child feels full most of the times and is a little uncomfortable. The belly can also feel stretched because of the full feeling. The child makes great effort to pass and the experience is very painful. Even after passing, the child may feel the urge of passing more stools. Because of the hard stool, it cause small tears in the anus skin and there will be little blood on the toilet paper. The child should immediately tell this to his parents, who can take care of the situation immediately. Some kids who have a worse condition will pass watery stool, something similar to diarrhea, and mucus along with the hard stool.

Constipation is becoming more and more widespread because of the unhealthy diet pattern followed by most of us today. With the trend of fast food, other fatty, starchy and sugary foods, children arent getting the required amount of fiber, which in turn slows down the bowels. It is the responsibility of the parents to make their children eat fiber enriched foods such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Along with eating food rich with fiber, it is also a must to drink enough fluids. Water is the best fluid for this condition. Fluids help to soften the stool and allow smooth passage within the intestine. Insufficient intake of fluids makes the stool dry and hard. Children are becoming more stagnant because of video games, internet and television, which are leaving them with little or no time for physical exercise. Exercise helps the food to move through the digestive system. Lesser active play time and physical activity is also a major cause of constipation. Medicines should be avoided and should be taken only when doctor recommends them.

Stress and anxiety can play havoc over the digestive system. School going kids are usually stressed out because of the homework, assignments, and exams. An adult can talk the kid out of the stress. Children, who have the irritable bowel syndrome or IBS, worsen their condition because of stress. Spicy and fatty foods can also act as triggers, along with the stress. Kids having this syndrome might even experience gas and belly pain. Sometimes children avoid going to the bathroom when they feel the need for. Usually unclean restrooms keep children away. But when the natures call is neglected, it becomes harder to go at a later time. In very rare cases, medical conditions such as lupus, diabetes and thyroid gland malfunctioning can also lead to constipation.

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Muscle Pain and Sleeplessness

Fibromyalgia is a painful condition that affects the muscles and joints and is seen in only 3-6% of the general population in the world. It’s generally seen more in females than males with a ratio percentage of 9.1 according to the College of Rhumatology and is commonly diagnosed in females between the ages of 20-50 though it’s been noted that the onset happens in childhood. This is not a life-threatening disease though the degree of pain in the condition can vary day to day with periods of flare ups and remission. The disease is being argued and viewed as non-progressive, but that’s a point that remains in limbo.

This is a problematic issue that can be a reason to keep someone up at night because the pain can be unbearable with the tingling and achiness in the muscles. This drives many who deal with this to endless and chronic deprivation of sleep. Those who suffer fibromyalgia also note issues with memory and other neurological issues, but the most frequent is the issues with sleeping that individuals go through when they deal with painful, annoying flare-ups.

Other issues that surround this problem, which can make sleeping very difficult, are irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, which affects mostly women and few men. Skin disorders like dermatological disorders, headaches, myofacial twitching, and symptomatic hypoglycemia. Stress, excessive physical exertion, lack of sleep, changes in temperature and baromic pressure. This condition can worsen when individuals don’t sleep or getting the proper rest and not overdoing on things in their daily lives.

The American Medical Association had officially recognized fibromyalgia as a medical condition back in 1987 when the disorder was around since the 1800s. It’s been said that flare ups are not identical to the ones that are found in people with rheumatoid arthritis, but ibuprofen like Advil, Acenomenofen (Tylenol), and Neproxine (Aleve) which are anti-inflammatory and can bring some comfort to those with fibromyalgia flare ups. Massage has also been ideal in helping those who deal with fibromyalgia to find comfort when they have flare ups. Massage helps to transfer fluids from the muscles and joints and increases circulation to the affected areas to bring some temporary relief for inflammation and flare ups.

Which can actually help improve sleep for someone in pain, but it’s best to get a massage when you’re not on any medication due to the high risk of side effects that can be triggered from massaging tissue and muscles.

Fibromyalgia is a manageable problem if you follow your doctor’s instructions and take your medication as directed and getting the right amount of sleep and getting plenty of exercise and eating a nutritious diet consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables and drinking plenty of water and limiting things in the diet that can also aggravate flare ups. When you take care of yourself properly you can actually improve the quality of sleep as well as decreasing the debilitating pain.

That can keep someone up all night long instead of allowing them to sleep and getting in a decent amount of time for rest and feeling stress free and more relaxed, so that they can face the day with no painful flare ups and discomfort that can be annoying.

What You Should Know About IBS

Irritable bowel syndrome is a disorder in the body that affects the digestive system, particularly the large intestine or the colon, which is assigned to regulate and man over the excretion of solid wastes of the body.

Although it may not seem true, irritable bowel syndrome is one of the most common diagnosed functional problems in the body. In the country alone, one out of five people are afflicted with the problem. This translates to about 20 percent of Americans. Still, little is known about the problem. Unlike other disorders that have already had awareness campaigns, irritable bowel syndrome still remain under the shadows. There is a lot of confusion as to how it starts and if a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome is appropriate.

What is doubly hard for this problem is the fact that there are no laboratory tests that can confirm the presence of irritable bowel syndrome. Diagnosis as mentioned before is solely dependent on the examination and study of the symptoms based on the account of the patient as well as on the medical history. Unlike other diseases that are directly caused by bacteria, virus and other organisms, irritable bowel syndrome has no known organic cause. Indirect causes or factors that may trigger the problem include stress, food items that may serve as irritant in the colon as well as milk products.

The numbers of cases of irritable bowel syndrome can actually even grow further as most people who have the problem do not even know that they have the problem. This is perhaps because of the fact that most of its symptoms are similar to symptoms of other body disorders. There is actually no distinctive symptom. This also the reason why it is classified under the term syndrome. Because there is a clear lack of a symptom that will differentiate it from other problems, diagnosis will depend on a set of symptoms that must be present. But what are the symptoms?

One of the main symptoms that doctors often watch out for in irritable bowel syndrome is the abdominal pain. This is actually one of the differentiating factors that doctors use to make a conclusion or final diagnosis. According to the Rome II Diagnostic Criteria, which is often used in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders, irritable bowel syndrome symptoms include abdominal pain and discomfort episodes that may last for about 12 months.

What are Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatments

There a number of things one can do to avoid the worsening of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The first two has something to do with diet and these two are to eat only healthy food and to eat small meals throughout the day instead of large meals. The next one is to check the medicines you are taking because there are cases where the medication for another disorder can cause another disorder. The last one has something to do with outlook or the psychological make-up of the person concerned. Try to live a stress free life by avoiding conflict and emotional upsets. All these things one can do but since Irritable Bowel Syndrome is something that has no known cause, you can still suffer from it even if you do all the things mentioned earlier.

Once sure that you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, it is time to examine the Irritable Bowel syndrome treatments available for you. There are already a number of over the counter drugs, Imodium or Loperamide being the most popular, but there are other treatments that you can consider especially if you are a woman.

For women with severe Irritable Bowel Syndrome and who does not respond to conventional therapy, there is Alosetron hydrochloride (Lotronex). The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have approved this treatment but even with this approval Lotronex users should be very careful because it can have side effects such as severe constipation or decreased blood flow to the colon. These side effects can be very serious so a doctor should be guiding the patient using the medication.

There is also the Tegaserod maleate (Zelnorm). Another one approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but this time around for the short-term treatment of women with Irritable Bowel Syndrome whose primary symptom is constipation. Zelnorm is taken for a standard 4 to 6 weeks. If the medication has taken effect already and the patient experiences a decrease in symptoms, the doctor may prescribe Zelnorm for an extended 4 to 6 weeks.

Again, these two treatments should be undergone under the watchful eye of your family doctor or a physician otherwise it can be a dangerous endeavor. Irritable Bowel Syndrome may be incurable for now but Irritable Bowel Syndrome treatments are present and there are many studies going on to improve these treatments so that one day hopefully and finally a cure maybe found.