Irritable bowel syndrome or IBS (also called ‘irritable colon’ or ’spastic colon’) is a diagnosis that means different things to different doctors. However, it usually denotes abnormal bowel function – either constipation or diarrhoea – without any sign of infection, or other physical cause (eg bowel cancer), and without any structural damage to the wall of the bowel. Within this group there is plenty of scope for variation – some patients suffer diarrhoea most of the time, others are usually constipated, while in others these symptoms alternate. Most patients suffer pain that is relieved by defecation, but not all do. In effect, IBS is little more than an umbrella term for various minor bowel disturbances of unknown origin. In some cases, there may be a more serious underlying problem, or a very simple problem that is easily cured.

Since there is no damage to the gut in IBS, there is no blood in the stools. Neither is there any weight loss or night-time diarrhoea – either of these symptoms indicate more serious conditions such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. IBS is a fairly minor problem in the sense that it does not affect general health, does not usually get any worse as the years go by, and does not predispose the sufferer to any other illnesses.

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