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(Irritable bowel syndrome)

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Almost everyone has had constipation and diarrhea at one time or another. But many
people have ³Irritable bowel syndrome´ which includes both diarrhea and constipation.
They are caused by two entirely different mechanisms. Bowels habit is disturbed by
diarrhea or constipation occurring alone or alternating. Some forms of this IBS have in
the past been called spastic colon and idiopathic or nervous diarrhea. Constipation
occurs from a sluggish contraction of the bowel and diarrhea by an overactive bowel.

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Although the etiology of the irritable bowel syndrome is uncertain, some relate this to
psychological disturbances, especially anxiety. Some relate their onset to an attack of
infective diarrhoea or certain foods may precipitate symptoms.
‡ It is true that stress can affect bowel function. It has been demonstrated that the bowel
can flush or become very pale in response to emotional reactions. Severe acute stress
may cause diarrhea.
‡ A close look at dietary factors is a must in evaluating the cause for an irritable bowel,
one cause i.e. lactose intolerance is a very common problem. The inability to digest
lactose sugar in milk and dairy products. The undigested lactose acts like a laxative and
causes the symptoms of an irritable bowel.
‡ Another and less common is gluten intolerance. Some individuals may have an allergic
reaction to gluten protein, which is found in all cereals except rice and corn. This can
cause diarrhea.
‡ Fat may also be a cause of diarrhea, they stimulate strong contractions of colon
contributing to pain and diarrhea.
‡ Alcohol is another often-unrecognised cause for such symptoms, particularly diarrhea.
The patient may not think that his or her alcohol habit can be the cause. Alcohol is a
cellular poison. Its initial contact with the lining of the bowel may cause some cellular
damage. As the alcohol in the blood is recirculated regularly and bathes the intestinal
cells, it creates further damage. Damaged cells mean inadequate digestion, followed by
diarrhea and IBS.
‡ Coffee, tea, colas and chocolate are all can cause IBS, as they stimulate muscular
contractions and acts as a causative factor in diarrhea.
‡ Spices may also irritate the bowel. In some case it may be due to food allergies or food
poisoning.
‡ Diarrhea may also be a symptom of vitamin deficiency e.g. niacin, B-12 or folic acid.
‡ Various infectious diseases may cause this but this is usually of short duration.
Parasites may be a cause like Giardiasis.
‡ The abuse of laxatives is a common cause, which is often overlooked.
‡ Disease of the pancreas may cause large, frequent, fatty stools. The pancreatic enzymes
needed for digestion and when these are in short supply symptoms follows.
What are the symptoms of IBS?
‡ Diarrhea characteristically occurs in the morning, and almost never at night.
‡ Urge to defecate after meals.
‡ Pain in the lower abdomen, pain often occurs in attacks usually relived by defecation
and sometimes provoked by food.
‡ Bowel habit is variable. All most all patients notice ribbon like stools with or without
mucus.
‡ Sensation of incomplete emptying of the rectum.
‡ Abdominal distension, excessive flatus, dyspepsia, heartburn, increased urine
frequency

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Ayurveda mentioned one disease known as µGrahani¶. The symptom of this grahani
resembles most of IBS symptoms.
Grahani is the seat of Agni and is called so because of holding up the food. Normally, it
holds up the food (till it is digested) and releases it from the side after it is digested. But
when it is deranged due to weak digestive fire it releases the ingested material even in
unripe condition.
Causes of deranged Agni -
Agni is deranged by fasting, eating during indigestion, over eating, irregularly eating,
intake of unsuitable, heavy, cold, too rough and contaminated food, emaciation due to
some disease, faulty adaptation to place, time and season, faulty administration of
emesis, purgation and unction and suppression of natural urges. Agni thus deranged
becomes unable to digest even the light food and the food being undigested gets
acidified and toxic.
 
Prodromal symptoms are - thirst, lassitude, debility, delayed digestion and heaviness in
body.
Thirst, anorexia, abnormal taste in mouth, excessive salivation and feeling of darkness,
eructation¶s have metallic or fleshy odor and bitter sour taste, edema on feet and hands,
joint pain, vomiting and fever, cutting pain in abdomen, lassitude, debility, dryness in
throat and mouth, burning in cardiac region and throat, patient passes stool as liquid,
dried, thin & undigested with sound, broken, mixed with mucus and heavy.
Frequent motions, which are of sometimes, dry & sometimes watery consistency is the
classical symptom


 
As the name itself suggests, it is very irritable. There are plenty of things you can do to
take some of the irritability out of your bowels.
1. Try changing your diet.
2. Eliminate the use of milk and milk products from your diet. This should be simply to
test and determine if you do have lactose intolerance. You should not eliminate milk or
milk products on a permanent basis unless you make sure you have other adequate
calcium sources.
3. Avoid excess tea, coffee, alcohol, cola, and carbonated beverages.
4. You should eat slowly and in a relaxed environment as possible, don¶t eat during
indigestion, or eating irregularly.
5. Avoid intake of unsuitable food, heavy, cold, contaminated or too sweet food, which is
heavy to digest. Ayurveda explains how to eat, when & what? So follow such rules.
6. Omit strong spices; too oily i.e. fried food, fatty foods, and flatus alleviating foods.
7. Tobacco should be eliminated entirely. Avoid all forms of tobacco, including smoking,
chewing or snuffing.
. Diet adjustments are not enough to improve your bowel function and avoid IBS. It is
important to eliminate nervous tension if possible. Relive your anxiety and stress by
adjusting your life style. Most of those measures are the things we should all do for
better health anyway.
9. Train your bowel, as this is also an important part of managing irritable bowel
symptoms, when the problem is mostly constipation.
10. Don¶t suppress the urge of urine & stool
11. Take fiber rich diet in case of constipation.
How Ayurveda help me for treating this disease?
Ayurveda suggests warm water for drinking first, when morbidity is situated in grahani
and is flared up with the half burnt food. Appetizers, lightening and digestive measures
like liquid gruel etc followed by ghee mixed with appetizers, vata alleviating drugs and
enema¶s is then advise as a line of treatment. If you have this problem, you must consult
your physician for proper treatment. Ayurvedic treatment is based on semi digested
(sama) or properly digested (nirama) stool. According to this physician decides your
treatment.

 
 
 

  
 
1. Powder of four sours (Vrukshamla, Amlavetasa, Dadima and Badara) 640 gm, trikatu
120 gm (Pippali, Shunthi, Black Pepper), and five salts 160gm added with sugar 320gm
should be used with vegetables, pulses, cooked cereals etc. It is efficacious in colic,
indigestion, anorexia etc.
2. Panchakola is to be added in cereal soup, Radish soups with black pepper are
recommended as diet.
3. Buttermilk, sour gruel, and arishta should be taken as post meal drink.
4. Buttermilk is specifically advised in this disease due to its appetizing nature,
astringency and lightness in all ways. This aids recovery of disease. So take in profuse
quantity.
5. One passing undigested diarrheic stools due to deficient Agni should take adequate
6. Dose of ghrita (ghee) mixed with appetizing drugs, as they are excellent stimulants of
weak fire.
7. Ayurveda advise µParpati Kalpa¶ in this disorder, which is very efficient for treating
this disorder, but strict dietary regimens one has to follow during this therapy.
. Various Asavas / Arishta¶s, Medicated ghee & appetizer drug formulations are advised
some of them are -

  
 - Eat old rice, jawar, gourd, coriander leaves, lentil, green grams soup, black
pepper, dried ginger, wood apple, Pomegranate, nutmeg, skimmed milk, buttermilk, hot
water, complete rest, adequate sleep.

  - Eat wheat, maize, barley, pigeon pea, pea, cow pea, spiked dolichos, black
gram, gram, Soya bean, saga, kidney bean, potato, sweet potato, navalkoal, onion,
coconut, groundnut, chili, oily food, chicken, red meat, crabs, prawns, fish, leafy
vegetable like sorrel, drum stick etc, mango, pineapple, apple, watermelon, cashew,
pumpkin gourd, papaya, fig, jack fruit, excess milk, day sleep, awakening at night,
tension, suppression of urges.
before bed.