Top Ten tips
6th April 2017

Tips to help relieve your IBS

As part of IBS Awareness Month this April, The IBS Network has put together tips on how to help relieve your symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

At any one time, it’s estimated that around 10-20% of the UK population will suffer from IBS, a condition that causes symptoms including abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhoea. The illness has no specific cause, no distinctive pathology and no single effective treatment. IBS symptoms can vary considerably from person to person and in the same person at different times. IBS should always be diagnosed by a qualified medical practitioner.

Here, we share our Top Ten Tips to help people manage their IBS symptoms:

1.    Try to understand what situations bring on your symptoms and how you feel at those times.

2.    Make time for meals. Sit down, relax, and enjoy eating with others, if possible. Avoid eating on the go!

3.    Keep a food diary. Know which foods are most likely to worsen your symptoms and reduce your intake of these.

4.    Eat three regular meals a day at the same times and roughly the same portions. 

5.    Always leave enough time to relax on the toilet. The bowel never works well under pressure. Make sure your toilet is warm and comfy.

6.    Try to keep active and get enough exercise. This will make you feel better and also help your bowels.

7.    Avoid meals rich in fat and restrict your intake of poorly absorbed carbohydrates.

8.    Lead a balanced life and aim to reduce stress as much as possible. Take time out for yourself to relax and do things you enjoy.  

9.    Go and see your doctor if you notice any blood in your stool or if you have unplanned weight loss.

10.    Ask The IBS Network for advice, support and information on any aspect of your condition and consider becoming a member of the national charity which helps people living with IBS.
 

Full membership benefits include:

•    use of the IBS Self Care Programme and Symptom Tracker to help manage your condition
•    access to the medical helpline, staffed by IBS trained nurses
•    personal one-to-one email contact via our website with a Gastroenterologist and other medical professionals who specialise in IBS
•    the quarterly magazine ‘Gut Reaction’ filled with new research, recipes, helpful articles and practical advice
•    all recipes for the sensitive gut created by specialist Dietitians and other experts
•    ‘Can’t Wait’ Card and international travel version translated into 12 languages
•    an extensive range of factsheets
•    access to a wider community of support and advice.