Bowel Health Dictionary

(IBS) This is a common and generally benign condition of the colon, taking different forms but usually characterized by alternating constipation and diarrhea. There is often some pain accompanying the diarrhea phase. The bowel equivalent of spasmodic asthma, its main cause is stress, often accompanied by a history of GI infections. Adrenalin stress slows the colon and causes constipation, followed by a cholinergic rebound overstimulation of the colon. It is also called spastic colon, colon syndrome, mucous colitis, even chronic colitis. True colitis is a potentially or actually serious pathology.... irritable bowel syndrome

A disorder of the intestinal tract that affects its motility and causes abdominal distension and irregular defaecation. Traditional, but now discarded, names have been spastic or irritable colon. The disease affects around 20 per cent of the general population but in most it is no more than a minor nuisance. The causes are not fully understood, but it is generally believed that symptoms develop in response to psychological factors, changed gastrointestinal motility, or altered visceral sensation. About 50 per cent of patients meet criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis. Anxiety, depression, neurosis, panic attacks, acute disease are among possible triggering factors. Some patients have diarrhoea, others are constipated, and some alternate between the two. Many have increased sensitivity to distension of the intestine. Dietary factors such as intolerance to dairy products and wheat are apparent in certain patients.

Common features of IBS include:

abdominal distension.

altered bowel habit.

colicky lower abdominal pain, eased by defaecation.

mucous discharge from rectum.

feelings of incomplete defaecation.

Investigations usually produce normal results. Positive diagnosis in people under 40 is usually straightforward. In older patients, however, barium ENEMA, X-rays and COLONOSCOPY should be done to exclude colorectal cancer.

Reassurance is the initial and often e?ective treatment. If this fails, treatment should be directed at the major symptoms. Several months of the antidepressant amitriptyline (see ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS) may bene?t patients with intractable symptoms, given at a dose lower than that used to treat depression. The majority of patients follow a relapsing/remitting course, with episodes provoked by stressful events in their daily lives. (See also INTESTINE, DISEASES OF.)... irritable bowel syndrome (ibs)

A collective term for chronic disorders affecting the small and/or large intestine that cause abdominal pain, bleeding, and diarrhoea. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the most common types of inflammatory bowel disease.... inflammatory bowel disease

See INTESTINE.... bowels

CROHN’S DISEASE and ULCERATIVE COLITIS are chronic in?ammatory diseases characterised by relapsing and remitting episodes over many years. The diseases are similar and are both classi?ed as IBD, but a signi?cant distinction is that Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT from mouth to anus, whereas ulcerative colitis affects only the COLON. The incidence of IBD varies widely between countries, being rare in the developing world but much more common in westernised nations, where the incidence of Crohn’s disease is around 5–7 per 100,000 (and rising) and that of ulcerative colitis at a broadly stable 10 per 100,000. It is common for both disorders to develop in young adults, but there is a second spike of incidence in people in their 70s. Details about the two disorders are given under the individual entries elsewhere in the dictionary. In?ammatory bowel disease should not be confused with IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME (IBS) which has some of the same symptoms of IBD but a di?erent cause and outcome.... inflammatory bowel disease (ibd)

See under INTESTINE, DISEASES OF.... obstruction of the bowels

Before the advent of small-bowel transplants, long-term intravenous feeding (total parenteral nutrition or TPN) was the last option for patients with chronic intestinal failure. Most recipients are children, and small-bowel transplantation is currently reserved for patients unable to continue on long-term parenteral nutrition. The main constraints to small-bowel transplantation are the intensity of rejection (necessitating high levels of immunosuppression), and the lack of donors who are the same size as the recipient (a particular problem for children).... small-bowel transplantantion

See: COLORECTAL CANCER. ... cancer – bowel

See faeces, abnormal.... bowel movements, abnormal

Sounds made by the passage of air and fluid through the intestine. Absent or abnormal bowel sounds may indicate a disorder. Those that are audible without a stethoscope are known as borborygmi and are a normal part of the digestive process, but they may be exaggerated by anxiety and some disorders of the intestine.... bowel sounds

intestinal failure that occurs when the small bowel is shortened by surgery or trauma, resulting in reduced absorption of nutrients. Some bowel adaptation does occur, but if under 200 cm of small bowel remain it is likely patients will need long-term *total parenteral nutrition.... short bowel syndrome

(enteroclysis) a radiological technique for examining the jejunum and ileum by passing a tube through the nose, oesophagus, and stomach into the small bowel and directly injecting *barium sulphate. Images are captured in real time as the contrast moves through the small bowel. It produces highly detailed images of the small bowel, making it particularly useful for investigating coeliac disease and Crohn’s disease, as well as strictures, tumours, and obstructions. It can be combined with X-ray imaging, CT, or MRI.... small-bowel enema

A form of arthritis running concurrently with a bowel disorder arising from intestinal irritation. Acute Crohn’s disease or colitis may be related. Joint stiffness and inflammation subside on disappearance of the bowel condition.

Chronic bowel conditions are frequently responsible for heavy drainage of vitamins and minerals via excessive stool. Calcium may be pillaged from the bones to make up blood calcium levels which, if prolonged, may lead to rigid spine.

Treatment. Treatment of arthritis would be secondary, the primary object being to normalise the bowel. Alternatives:–

Teas or decoctions. Comfrey leaves, Calamus, Chamomile, Avens, Agrimony, Marshmallow root, Meadowsweet, Slippery Elm bark, Wild Yam.

Tea. Formula. Equal parts: Agrimony, Balm, Chamomile. 1 heaped teaspoon to each cup boiling water; infuse 5-10 minutes; 1 cup freely.

Fenugreek seeds. Decoction. 1 cup freely.

Tablets/capsules. Calamus, Fenugreek, Goldenseal, Wild Yam.

Formula. Fenugreek 2; Wild Yam 1; Goldenseal quarter; Ginger quarter. Mix. Dose: Powders: 500mg (two 00 capsules or one-third teaspoon). Liquid extracts: 1 teaspoon. Tinctures: 2 teaspoons.

Bamboo powder. Two 320mg capsules thrice daily. (Dr Max Rombi)

Biostrath Willow Formula.

Diet. Slippery Elm food. Vitamin B12. Low fat. Cider vinegar.

Supportive: high enemas. Natural lifestyle. Outlook good. ... arthritis – bowel related

Frequent urging to stool due to nervous irritability or emotional distress.

Indicated: astringents, nerve relaxants.

Teas. Hops, Vervain, Chamomile, Cranesbill.

Tablets/capsules. Chamomile, Calamus, Wild Yam, Fenugreek.

Formula. Bayberry 2; Wild Yam 1; Valerian half. Dose: Liquid extracts: 1-2 teaspoons. Tinctures: 2-3 teaspoons. Powders: 750mg (three 00 capsules or half a teaspoon). Thrice daily.

Tincture. Black Catechu BHP (1983). 1:5 in 45 per cent alcohol. Dose 2.5 to 5ml in water, thrice daily. Fenulin. (Gerard House)

Diet. Slippery Elm gruel.

Supplements. Vitamins A, B6, C, Calcium, Dolomite. ... nervous bowel syndrome

(barium follow-through) a technique for examining the small bowel, often used when small-bowel enema is not tolerated. The patient swallows dilute *barium sulphate suspension and then a series of abdominal radiographs are taken. A complete examination occurs when contrast reaches the first part of the large bowel (caecum). This technique is particularly useful for investigating small-bowel *Crohn’s disease.... small-bowel meal