The Herbal Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

IBS is the most common gastro-intestinal disorder reported to GPs and up to 50% of referrals to gastroenterologists are for IBS.

It has been clinically proven that stress has a lot to do with this complaint. Herbal Medicine attains a very high rate of clinical success in the treatment of IBS.

Patients suffer recurrent abdominal pain and severe bloating with diarrhoea and/or constipation. It is more common in women, especially between ages 20-40 years. There are several causes including stress, food intolerance, antibiotics or food poisoning.

Symptoms include pain low down on the left and/or right of the abdomen. There is often discomfort just below the stomach. There are usually loud bowel sounds, which is not ideal in a business meeting. Patients can experience nausea and be very windy. There is usually quite a dip in energy as well.

What can be done?

As I mentioned earlier, stress is very significant in the causation and the aggravation of IBS. It is therefore important to adjust lifestyle to allow for relaxation and to support the nervous system with Herbal Medicine. I receive many GP referrals, when patients are not happy to take drugs for symptomatic treatment. Patients are always surprised at how effective herbal  treatment for IBS is. I see many patients in my clinics, who have IBS, and I attain a very high rate of clinical success.

On average, it takes around a week to start noticing an improvement and treatment continues for up to 3 months depending on the patient’s response to the medication. Severe cases can take longer. When the patient is well, he or she usually takes a “stress mix” to keep them on an even keel and thereby prevent another bout of IBS.

The diet should consist of small regular meals with plenty of fibre. Because food intolerances are so often implicated in the cause of IBS, it is important to determine what these may be and avoid them. Conventional blood tests of suspected allergens will be unlikely to give positive results because many food allergies are mediated by IgG and not IgE, which is what most of the blood tests measure. Indeed, some food intolerances are not mediated by the immune system at all. The best way of testing for IBS food intolerances is by elimination diets and then gradual reintroduction of foods as appropriate.

If you feel you could benefit from this approach and would like to discuss your health concerns, call for an appointment.

 Article: Deborah Grant Consultant Medical Herbalist December 2008, Published in the Family Health Guide

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