Tag: Mild Symptoms

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.

Asthma And Fish Oil

There was a study conducted in Indiana University which revealed that fish oil is a very effective remedy for asthma symptoms, especially that caused by over activity or too much exercise.

Emergency medication is often needed by people who have severe asthma symptoms. The study involved 16 asthma patients suffering mild symptoms to severe ones. These individuals need daily asthma medications in order to control the attacks. The asthma patients were given high doses of fish oil which contain EPA or Eicosapentaenoic acid (3.2 gm) and DHA or Docosahexaenoic acid (2gm) for about three weeks.

Before fish oil administration, the lungs of the asthma patients were first examined through efficiency tests. Sputum samples were also taken and analyzed. The tests took note of the inflammatory cells and some markers. The same tests were conducted after the end of the study. After the 3-week period of fish oil administration, the patients showed 64% improvement in terms of lung efficiency and the need for asthma medications also reduced by about 31%. Fish oil contains fatty acids (Omega 3) which has an anti-inflammatory effect.

Asthma patients often have second thoughts about exercising because they fear that it can cause asthma symptoms. This is true especially in some asthmatics. However, the body needs adequate exercise and this is the reason why some asthma patients still engage in some forms of exercise. In some case, the air passage swells or become inflamed when the asthma patient engages in strenuous exercises. When this happens, the doctor will tell you that the asthma attack was exercise-induced. How can you tell if youre exhibiting asthma symptoms? Its quite simple; once you experience wheezing, breath shortness, chest tightness, and coughing, youre already having an asthma attack. Dont worry because the asthma symptoms will just ease off after 1 hours.

If you exercise during dry and cool conditions, youre more likely to experience asthma symptoms because there is cooling and drying out of the air passages. This will result to the release of inflammatory chemicals which narrows the airways. Some doctors encourage swimming as a form of exercise because the air is usually warmer and moist and so asthma attacks seldom happens.

When the asthma attack is exercise-induced, the individual will not be able to get enough exercise. In the case of youngsters who like sports and other physical activities, their health condition will serve as a barrier and so they cant enjoy their life to the fullest.

Omega 3 is different from Omega 6. Large percentage of Omega 3 is found in fish oil and this is very beneficial to asthma patients because of its anti-inflammatory properties. The latter is pro-inflammatory which means that it can trigger the release of inflammatory chemicals, thereby resulting to asthma attacks. Medical experts advise asthma patients to increase their consumption of Omega 3 or fish oil instead of consuming more vegetable oils, processed foods, dairy products, and meats which contain Omega 6. So where can you get fish oil? You can get it from oily fishes or in fish oil that came from plant sources.

You have to include fish oil in your everyday supplements because of its therapeutic benefits. You can use it to prevent future asthma attacks which are exercise-induced. Beware of fish oils with lesser grade because it has harmful toxins. Try to purchase only the pharmaceutical grade or best quality supplements of fish oil.