Everyone Healthy Library
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Condition / disease reference page from the Everyone Healthy database.
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Connected health information
Explore this condition in a clear order
Condition overview
Attributes
Commonalityis common
Incidenceis approximately 1 in 54 people
Linked signs and symptoms
15Each sign/symptom opens its own page and links back to related conditions.
- Abdominal Bloating
- Abdominal Cramp
- Abdominal Pain Relieved by Defecation (Passing Stools)
- Bowel Habits Altered
- Bowel Movement: Feeling of Incomplete Defecation (Tenesmus)
- Constipation
- Diarrhoea (Diarrhea)
- Headache (Cephalgia)
- Mind: Depression
- Nausea
- Pain Abdominal
- Pain Back
- Pain Vaginal During Intercourse (Dyspareunia)
- Rectum: Passing Mucus
- Urinary Frequency Increased
Linked drugs / medications
3Medication information is educational only. A doctor or pharmacist should advise whether any medicine is appropriate.
Treatments, therapies and supportive options
26Grouped by treatment type. These are educational database links, not personal treatment recommendations. Evidence labels are shown only where stored in the EH database.
Behavioural changes
1Counselling and support
4Alternative and complementary therapies
9Alternative medicine
6- CuranderismoNo Recommendation(Very Low Evidence)
- KampoNo Recommendation(Very Low Evidence)
- Peppermint OilWeakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
- Psyllium (Isphagula, Plantago Psyllium)Weakly in Favour(High Evidence)
- Strychnos Nux Vomica (Maqianzi, Poison Nut)Strongly Against(Very Low Evidence)
- Tumeric (Curcuma longa)No Recommendation(Very Low Evidence)
Vitamins and minerals
1Vitamins
1Linked diagnostic tests and investigations
1These are pulled from both EH diagnostic-test link tables, including the older large test-link table.
Biological markers/agents
1This visual map shows biological markers/agents reported as increased or decreased with this condition. These are educational relationships only; test results must be interpreted by a qualified clinician because ranges vary by lab, method, age, sex and clinical context.
Often increased
0No markers in this group.
Often decreased
1Introduction / full article
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:
Turmeric [1, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30]:
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It is proposed only as a weak supportive symptomatic support, and even then, has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: No recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that turmeric can help in the treatment of IBS. More research is needed.)
Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence
Strychnos Nux-Vomica (Maqianzi, Poison Nut) [1, 22, 23, 24]:
WARNING! This substance is HIGHLY POISONOUS. The seeds contain Strychnine, which may cause convulsions, breathing difficulties and death, even if as little as 5 milligrams is ingested
Recommendation: Strongly against (There is no evidence in the form of clinical trials which reports the effectiveness of Strychnos Nux-Vomica, because it is highly poisonous to humans, and is not recommended.)
Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence
Psyllium (Isphagula, Plantago Psyllium) [1, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21]:
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: weakly in favor (Research shows that Psyllium may be effective in helping to treat IBS, but only when used with other treatments.)
Grade of Evidence: high quality of evidence
Peppermint Oil [1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15]:
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: Weakly in favor (Early clinical trials have shown that Peppermint may help in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome, but more research is needed)
Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence
Megavitamin Therapy (Multivitamin, Vitamin Supplements) [1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]:
Please Note that while supplements are effective in correcting deficiencies in the body, their long-term usage is not helpful in preventing diseases like cancer and heart disease. To prevent these illnesses one should eat the natural foods which these vitamins and minerals come from. Replacing natural sources with artificial supplements actually increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Supplements should be taken only as a balanced multivitamin supplement that contains no more than 100% of the recommended daily allowance. It would be most helpful in people with restricted food intakes, pregnant women and women of childbearing age.
Recommendation: Weakly against. (There is no evidence that Megavitamin therapy can prevent or treat IBS. In fact, long term therapy can lead to increased risk for other diseases)
Grade of Evidence: moderate quality of evidence
Kampo [1, 2, 3]:
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: No recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that Kampo helps in the treatment of IBS)
Grade of Evidence: moderate of evidence
Curanderismo:
Recommendation: no recommendation (there is insufficient evidence to show that curanderismo has any effect in treating irritable bowel syndrome)
Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence
* www.gradeworkinggroup.org