Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The conditions of irritable bowel syndrome or IBS and inflammatory bowel disease or IBD are often confused as the same condition, however, they are different due to the fact that IBS is a condition that causes spasms in the colon and has multiple symptoms with no inflammation or disease present, while IBD is an inflammatory disease of the bowel that involves the autoimmune system and includes the conditions of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

However, some medical experts believe that some individuals with IBS may suffer some of the symptoms of IBD as well as some individuals with IBD may suffer from the symptoms of IBS except the symptoms of weight loss, anemia, bleeding, and fever that occur in individuals who have inflammatory bowel disease do not occur in individuals who have irritable bowel syndrome.

Characteristic Signs and Symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease can experience the symptoms of abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, bloody stools, and weight loss. The condition of the IBD ulcerative colitis affects the colons mucosal lining and can be contained in the lower colon; however, it can also affect the entire colon in some individuals.

Individuals who have ulcerative colitis are at a high risk factor for developing cancer - particularly those individuals who have experienced long term colitis. The condition known as Crohn's disease is also an IBD that typically affects only parts of the colon but also causes abscesses, strictures, and fistulas.

The coexistence of IBD and IBS

While there is conflicting evidence that individuals who suffer from IBD or IBS experience the same symptoms, patients who have claimed they experienced the symptoms of IBS for many years have later on been diagnosed with IBD.

However, medical experts claim that individuals with IBS are not at a higher risk for developing IBD. Depression is also common among patients with IBD and IBS and studies conducted have shown that approximately the same percentage of individuals who have IBS or IBD suffer from depression.

What is thought to cause the depression in these individuals is the fact that ninety five percent of the serotonin levels - that are a neurotransmitter or brain chemical that affect mood - in the body are present in the colon and that gastrointestinal issues experienced with these conditions causes the serotonin levels to be abnormally low.

Prevalence of IBS and IBD

Statistics show that the medical conditions of IBS and IBD primarily develop and are diagnosed in younger individuals' who are between the ages of ten and twenty years and is also often diagnosed in individuals who are in their early thirties.

Approximately fifteen percent of the American population have irritable bowel syndrome with over sixty percent of cases occurring in women while approximately six hundred thousand individuals suffer from inflammatory bowel disease.

While these two conditions are quite often mistaken for one another, they are two very different conditions. If you feel that you suffer from a gastrointestinal complication, it is important that you make an appointment with a doctor as soon as possible. By getting a confirmed diagnosis, you will be able to receive the treatment that is required to experience relief from the symptoms of the condition.