Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, long-term disorder of how the gut and brain work together. It causes symptoms like cramping, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation, but unlike inflammatory bowel disease it does not inflame or damage the bowel, and it does not raise the risk of bowel cancer.
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Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, is a common, long-term condition that affects the digestive system. Doctors describe it as a disorder of how the gut and brain work together, rather than a disease that inflames or scars the bowel (NHS; Cleveland Clinic).
This is the most important thing to understand about IBS, and the most reassuring: it does not damage the bowel and does not raise the risk of bowel cancer. It is real and can be uncomfortable, but it does not cause the tissue damage seen in inflammatory bowel disease (Cleveland Clinic).
Main symptoms
The usual symptoms are stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation, often with excess gas, an urgent need to go, or mucus in the stool. Because some people lean more towards constipation, some towards diarrhoea and some swing between the two, doctors group IBS into subtypes: IBS-C, IBS-D and IBS-M (NHS; Cleveland Clinic).
IBS is not IBD
The two names are easy to confuse. IBS is a functional disorder with no visible inflammation; IBD, inflammatory bowel disease, involves real inflammation and tissue damage. The symptoms can overlap, which is one reason it is worth getting a proper diagnosis rather than guessing (Cleveland Clinic).
Living with it
IBS is usually lifelong, but most people can manage it well. Changes to routine and diet, medicine and, for some, behavioural therapy can keep symptoms under control (NHS; Cleveland Clinic).