‘Syndrome’ means a group of symptoms. Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a group of symptoms that includes abdominal pain, changed pattern or regularity of bowel movements, and many other symptoms, such as cramps, bloating of the abdomen, urge to pass the stools, unsatisfactory stools, etc.

Changes in the pattern of Bowel movements can be variable and, based on that, IBS can be classified into 4 types:

1. Diarrhea Predominant IBS: This is a type of IBS where symptoms of diarrhea are common.
2. Constipation Predominant IBS: It is a type of IBS where symptoms of constipation are common.
3. IBS causing both diarrhea and constipation or causing diarrhea and constipation alternately.
4. IBS causing neither diarrhea nor constipation.

Sometimes, the patient can suffer from IBS after having an infection and that causes symptoms, such as fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and positive stool culture. This type of IBS is called ‘Postinfectious IBS’.

IBS is a functional disorder which means that the abnormality lies at a functional level, the movements of the intestine are neither regular nor normal. However, if we examine the intestinal tract, there is no structural change or pathology observed.

IBS is known by various names like colitis, mucous colitis, spastic bowel, functional bowel disease, nervous colon, etc.

How Does Homeopathic Treatment Help?

Homeopathic treatment for IBS is beneficial in the following ways:

Homeopathy helps to improve our stress-coping system.

Homeopathy helps to keep our mind at peace.

It helps us to deal with our negative emotions – anxiety, anger, guilt, worries, hatred, etc.

It reduces or treats the oversensitivity of the gut towards certain foodstuffs.

As we adopt an individualistic approach in Homeopathic treatment, the minor issues or problems specific to a particular patient are also taken into consideration during the treatment.

How Does Homeopathy Work in Treating IBS?

Homeopathy addresses the root cause of the disease, in the case of IBS, it may be psychological factors, such as emotional stress, anger, etc., and abnormal sensitivity towards certain food products.

Homeopathy treats the disturbance at the level of the stress-coping system. Homeopathic medicines help in imparting positive emotions and feelings so that the patient can handle stress effectively and does not let himself get affected negatively by the stressors. Homeopathy very well addresses the relationship between the psyche and the physique of the patient.

Homeopathy studies every individual patient and treats them as a whole entity by taking into considerations all the general symptoms as well as symptoms particular to specific organ systems, such as gastrointestinal symptoms.

Duration Of Homeopathic treatment:

IBS is a functional disorder that can be triggered by many factors, and it can present with slow or rapid progress. Since many factors plays role towards its development, along with homeopathic medicines, diet, lifestyle and stress factors also play an important role in its treatment.

The duration of homeopathic treatment in IBS also depends on the following factors:

• The duration of the disease
• The previous use of conventional medicines
• The general condition of the patient
• Age of the patient
• Any associated diseases along with IBS

We can expect an initial improvement within 8 to 10 weeks of homeopathic treatment. However, a treatment of 12 to 16 months is recommended for a significant recovery.

There are about 3000 homeopathic medicines available for treating a variety of health conditions. We would like to list a few homeopathic medicines useful in the treatment of IBS.

• Sulphur
• Silicea
• Nux Vomica                          
• Lycopodium Clavatum
• Argentum Nitricum
• Podophyllum                    
• Colocynthis
• Lilium Tigrinum