A health condition that is often considered to be most disruptive to daily living is IBS Irritable Bowel Syndrome. As one can tell from the term itself, IBS is a disorder of the bowels that is most commonly characterized by frequent bowel movements, irregular bowel activity patterns and a great deal of discomfort. One of the primary symptoms of IBS is severe abdominal pain, which should be reported to a medical professional.

Other symptoms that are common to IBS Irritable Bowel Syndrome include things such as having excessive gas and bloating in the abdominal area, and often a sensation that the elimination of the stools was incomplete. Doctors have reported that IBS is the most common complaint that they receive in terms of people dealing with intestinal issues.

IBS is a condition that is more likely to affect women than it does men. Furthermore, it is most prevalent in the thirty to fifty years age bracket, but seems to impact all races equally. Irritable bowel syndrome has been classified as a functional disease of the intestines, since it interferes with and limits the ability of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract to perform correctly. IBS is a condition that cannot be diagnosed with x-rays or blood tests and anybody who has dealt with it can testify to the reasons why a healthy colon is so important.

IBS is typically referred to as functional bowel syndrome, irritable colon (since the large intestine is also known as the colon), spastic colon and spastic bowel. However, IBS is not the same condition as Crohn's disease, which is an inflammatory bowel disease. One of the frustrations with this condition is that it is often difficult to pinpoint the reason for the discomfort, making it difficult to treat. Oftentimes a person with IBS will have a colonoscope done only to discover that there is no indication of a physical problem.

Many doctors and health care professionals consider that IBS is caused by abnormal functioning, or a dysfunction, of the muscles in the gastrointestinal tract or in the nerves controlling the area, or both. However the root cause of this dysfunction remains a mystery in the majority of cases, which leads many folks to look for alternative remedies, such as doing a colon detox program or trying out colon cleansing pills.

However, there have been several reports of these steps actually making the condition worse, so they should be used with caution. This is particularly true of folks who have serious health concerns, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and migraines, to name but a few.

There are also many people who insist that IBS Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a result of the poor eating habits to which Americans have become accustomed. They advocate a change in diet to more natural and healthier foods, combined with a gentle, herbal colon cleansing formula that can help to restore the proper functioning of a clean colon.