Irritable Bowel Syndrome

FACTS: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a very common, chronic gastrointestinal condition. IBS is non-inflammatory and different from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is an umbrella term for diseases that include ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Although IBS and IBD share similar names and certain symptoms, they are distinct disorders. The major difference is that IBS does not cause inflammation of the digestive tract, whereas IBD is an autoimmune disease causing inflammation that can lead to intestinal damage, bleeding, weight loss and malnutrition. IBS is a functional disorder, meaning the physical symptoms do not have any identifiable or known cause. People with IBS may show no clinical signs of disease and have normal test results, yet their pain and discomfort are very real. Irritable bowel syndrome is much more prevalent than inflammatory bowel disease. IBS affects an estimated 15% of the global population. In the USA alone over 50 million people have IBS symptoms.