An IBS flare-up can be frustrating and may cause a range of digestive symptoms. If you're experiencing a flare, there are several at-home remedies you can try, such as gut-directed hypnotherapy, removing high-FODMAP foods from your diet, heat therapy, avoiding caffeine, exercising, and reducing stress.
There are many things you can do to manage IBS symptoms. Heat, tea, relaxation, keeping track of symptoms, and eating a low-FODMAP diet can all help. Importantly, working with a healthcare provider is the best way to develop a treatment plan that incorporates lifestyle changes, stress reduction, and medication.
A typical flare up usually lasts between 2-4 days but can be much longer. However, taking action to calm a flare up can shorten the time you experience symptoms.
Water intake might be associated with improvement of IBS through affecting GI function. Water intake might improve constipation among IBS-C patients. In addition, drinking water is a common suggestion for IBS-D patients to prevent diarrhea-induced dehydration.
Your doctor may suggest trying OTC diarrhea medicines such as bismuth subsalicylate (Kaopectate, Pepto-Bismol) and loperamide (Imodium) for relief. Researchers have found these drugs can help slow diarrhea, but they won't help with other IBS symptoms like belly pain or swelling.
While we don't know what causes IBS, we do know that flare-ups are often triggered by food, caffeine, stress, carbonated drinks, artificial sugars, or infectious diarrhea. The more IBS episodes you have, the more sensitive your gut becomes to triggers.
Some common at-home treatments for IBS include relaxation exercises, hypnotherapy, physical activity, dietary changes, applying heat, and consuming peppermint oil or other supplements (such as prebiotics and probiotics).
Your provider may recommend or prescribe these medications to treat IBS-D: OTC fiber supplements, such as psyllium (Metamucil) and calcium polycarbophil (FiberCon) OTC loperamide (Imodium A-D) Eluxadoline (Viberzi)
When experiencing an IBS attack you can feel bloated and gassy (flatulence). You can also experience pain or cramps in your lower abdomen and feel an urgency to go to the toilet, alongside a change in bowel movements, including constipation, diarrhoea or alternating bouts of both constipation and diarrhoea.
The best thing to do during an IBS flare is to look after yourself and take some time out to recover.
Include plenty of probiotic-rich foods like kimchi, kombucha, miso, or sauerkraut. Sometimes, you can also eat yogurt if you are not allergic to dairy. Try unsweetened sheep or goat yogurt. These are all foods that help your gut flora get and stay healthy.
The chronic pain (pain lasting 6 months or longer) in IBS can be felt anywhere in the abdomen (belly), though is most often reported in the lower abdomen. It may be worsened soon after eating, and relieved or at times worsened after a bowel movement. It is not always predictable and may change over time.
IBS is a chronic condition that may be lifelong. Doctors do not completely understand how it develops or how to cure it. Treatment aims to relieve symptoms. Flare-ups of symptoms tend to come and go over time and can last for days, weeks, or months.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common condition that affects the digestive system. It causes symptoms like stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation. These tend to come and go over time, and can last for days, weeks or months at a time. It's usually a lifelong problem.
1 year after diagnosis, over 30% of people have long symptom-free periods; after 10 years, over 50% of people have lasting symptoms. IBS can be treated, as described below. That said, there isn't an exact answer.
But when an upset stomach becomes a common occurrence instead of an occasional one, and if symptoms always include severe abdominal pain, constipation and diarrhea, it may be time to talk to a doctor about irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).