Causing a significant amount of pain and distress, irritable bowel syndrome can interrupt your life to the point that you stop participating in those things that you have always enjoyed, such as family outings, social activities or even traveling. Unfortunately for many, irritable bowel syndrome is completely debilitating. This is a depressing health fact.

Irritable bowel syndrome is not thought to permanently harm your intestines and is not currently known to lead to more serious conditions, such as cancer. However, with the life control that this disease can claim, it can be a serious threat to your health.

There are many IBS sufferers who have learned to control IBS symptoms with lifestyle changes such as stress management and dietary changes as well as prescription medications when necessary.

While it is not a pleasant thought to consider, the signs and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome occur as a result of the muscles of the intestinal organs or either the nerves that control the organs do not function properly. With the malfunction of the muscles or the nerves, the organs themselves stop functioning normally.

Irritable bowel syndrome can certainly take over your life. There are far too many stories of patients being at a party or a lovely dinner out with family and friends with the IBS begins to act up causing your gut to begin to rumble and then you have to rush out knocking others out of your way in a mad dash to the reach the bathroom in the nick of time!

Not a pretty sight.

While the cause of irritable bowel syndrome is not particularly well understood, it does seem that with IBS the actual movement of the digestive tract is impaired.

But there does not to appear to be any change in the physical structure of the digestive tract such as inflammation or growths. The symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are related to the miscommunication between the brain and the intestinal tract. It is this miscommunication which causes the abnormal muscle contractions in the gut.

The primary symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are abdominal pain or discomfort that is accompanied by diarrhea or constipation, or at times both. Mucus in the stools and abdominal bloating are also often seen in IBS.

The signs and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are generally easy to describe and certainly get your attention. These signs are typically used by your healthcare provider to diagnose this intestinal disorder. Additional tests such as a flexible sigmoidoscopy are used to rule out other possible causes for your symptoms.

If you are looking to improve your health and to get control of your IBS, then it is important to work with your physician to custom design a treatment plan just for your symptoms. IBS is a manageable condition.

Working with your physician, learning to manage your lifestyle and avoiding foods that are known to trigger your symptoms is a great way to start. Some foods known to be trigger foods for IBS are dairy products, chocolate, caffeine and fatty foods.

There is no cure for irritable bowel syndrome but there are definitely some lifestyle changes that you can make if you are looking to restore your health and learn to manage your IBS.