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Irritable bowel

Irritable bowel syndrome
Synonyms spastic colon, nervous colon, mucous colitis, spastic bowel
Video explanation
Classification and external resources
Specialty Gastroenterology
ICD-10 K58
ICD-9-CM 564.1
DiseasesDB 30638
MedlinePlus 000246
eMedicine med/1190
Patient UK Irritable bowel syndrome
MeSH D043183
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Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a group of symptoms—including abdominal pain and changes in the pattern of bowel movements without any evidence of underlying damage. These symptoms occur over a long time, often years. It has been classified into four main types depending on if diarrhea is common, constipation is common, both are common, or neither occurs very often (IBS-D, IBS-C, IBS-M, or IBS-U respectively). IBS negatively affects quality of life and may result in missed school or work. Disorders such as anxiety, major depression, and chronic fatigue syndrome are common among people with IBS.

The causes of IBS are not clear. Theories include gut–brain axis problems, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, genetic factors, food sensitivity, and gut motility problems. Onset may be triggered by an intestinal infection, or stressful life event. IBS is a functional gastrointestinal disorder. Diagnosis is based on signs and symptoms in the absence of worrisome features. Worrisome features include onset at greater than 50 years of age, weight loss, blood in the stool, or a family history of inflammatory bowel disease. Other conditions that may present similarly include celiac disease, microscopic colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, bile acid malabsorption, and colon cancer.


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