Can ayurvedic or herbal treatments Treat Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

Because Ayurveda believes that Human Body positively respond to the natural healing which includes natural remedies. It might take some long time(with compare to Allopathic methods) to achieve full relief from Irritable Bowel Syndrome with help of Herbal medicines, but when you are fully treated, then results would last throughout your life (It is believed in Ayurveda that treatment with natural remedies has long lasting effects, but this belief is a matter of debate and open discussions). Herbal medicines dosn't make you dependent and the best part is that There is almost NO side effect in most of the herbal products.

What Is Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a functional bowel disorder characterized by abdominal pain and changes in bowel habits which are not associated with any abnormalities seen on routine clinical testing. It is fairly common and makes up 20–50% of visits to gastroenterologists. Lower abdominal pain, and bloating associated with alteration of bowel habits and abdominal discomfort relieved with defecation are the most frequent symptoms. The abdominal pain type is usually described in a patient as either diarrhea-predominant (Irritable Bowel Syndrome-D), constipation-predominant (Irritable Bowel Syndrome-C) or Irritable Bowel Syndrome with alternating stool pattern (Irritable Bowel Syndrome-A). In some individuals, Irritable Bowel Syndrome may have an acute onset and develop after an infectious illness characterised by two or more of the following: fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or positive stool culture. This post-infective syndrome has consequently been termed "post-infectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome" (Irritable Bowel Syndrome-PI) and is acute onset Rome II criteria positive. This condition is more homogeneous, being mostly Irritable Bowel Syndrome-D and is drawing much clinical investigation.

Chronic functional abdominal pain (CFAP) is quite similar to, but less common than Irritable Bowel Syndrome. CFAP can be diagnosed if there is no change in bowel habits.

The underlying biochemical cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome is not well established, so there is no specific laboratory test which can be performed to diagnose this condition. Diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome involves excluding conditions which produce Irritable Bowel Syndrome-like symptoms, and then following a procedure to categorize the patient's symptoms.

Because there are many causes of diarrhea and Irritable Bowel Syndrome-like symptoms, the American Gastroenterological Association has published a set of guidelines for tests to be performed to diagnose other conditions which may have symptoms similar to Irritable Bowel Syndrome. These include gastrointestinal infections, lactose intolerance and Coeliac disease. Research has suggested that these guidelines are not always followed. Once other causes have been excluded, the diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome is performed using a diagnostic algorithm. Well-known algorithms include the Manning Criteria, the Rome I Criteria, the Rome II Process, the Kruis Criteria, and studies have compared their reliability. The more recent Rome III Process was published in 2006. Physicians may choose to use one of these criteria, or may use other guidelines based on their own experience and the patient's history. The algorithm may include additional tests to guard against mis-diagnosis of other diseases as Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Such "red flag" symptoms may include weight loss, GI bleeding, anemia, or nocturnal symptoms. However, researchers have noted that red flag conditions may not always contribute to accuracy in diagnosis — for instance, as many as 31% of Irritable Bowel Syndrome patients have blood in their stool.

The diagnostic algorithm identifies a name which can be applied to the patient's condition based on the combination of the patient's symptoms of diarrhea, abdominal pain, and constipation. For example, the statement "50% of returning travelers had developed functional diarrhea while 25% had developed Irritable Bowel Syndrome" would mean that half the travelers had diarrhea while a quarter had diarrhea with abdominal pain. While some researchers believe this categorization system will help physicians understand Irritable Bowel Syndrome, others have questioned the value of the system and suggested that all Irritable Bowel Syndrome patients have the same underlying disease but with different symptoms.