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Excessive Bloating and IBS

Bloating and abdominal pain are common symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, along with constipation and diarrhoea.

What is bloating?

When the stomach is bloated, it feels full, tight and painful and can appear distended. Bloating can occur as a result of many different factors. For example, less serious reasons can include gas trapped in the stomach, eating too much or eating certain foods that your digestive system cannot tolerate very well (lactose or wheat intolerance for example), constipation, menstruation, or even swallowing too much air. It is an extremely common symptom of irritable bowel syndrome.

What is IBS?

IBS can be said to be a functional disorder of the digestive system where there is no other identifiable cause for the symptoms. In other words, the structure of the digestive system looks normal but the way it functions isn’t. Characteristic symptoms include abdominal bloating and pain, along with bouts of diarrhoea or constipation or both.

At the moment there is no cure for irritable bowel syndrome and no one understands what actually causes it either, although several triggers have been identified including stress, food intolerances, and an imbalance of the micro-flora in the gut. Around 20% of the population suffer from irritable bowel syndrome which can affect anyone at any time including children although women seem to be more at risk than men. An accurate diagnosis is essential as there can be other more serious causes for the symptoms of IBS. Treating involves finding ways to deal with the symptoms.

How to find relief from bloating

It isn’t easy to find a simple “cure” for bloating, as each person’s experience of IBS is unique and what works for one individual won’t necessarily work for another. Dealing with bloating can include lifestyle changes, dietary modifications, medication or other preparations.

Do not over eat, ever.
Find time each day to relax.
Try to deal with any stress in your life.
Get enough sleep.
Take more exercise as this helps alleviate stress as well as helps your digestive system to function more efficiently and will help move excessive gas.
Eating more fibre might help but remember to drink a lot more water. Most people don’t drink enough water anyway but it is particularly important when including more fibre as fibre absorbs water. Basically you should be drinking at least 2 litres a day of water a day.
Certain foods can result in bloating in some people, for example, beans and pulses, dairy products, greasy foods, some fruits and vegetables and wheat products are common culprits. Identify if any of these foods make your symptoms worse and try to reduce or eliminate them from the diet.
Reduce the amount of tea, coffee, alcohol and carbonated drinks you consume and stop or cut down on smoking.

If you have spasm like pains then your doctor may prescribe you an antispasmodic medication which works by relaxing the muscles in the wall of your gut.

There are also numerous over the counter preparations designed to relieve gas and therefore may help reduce bloating but always check with your doctor first.