How can we find out if I have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)?

How can we diagnose IBS?

Until the last few years, the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome was made only after full and extensive investigations showing no structural abnormality. Nowadays, full investigations are only required if there is doubt about the diagnosis from the clinical presentation. Typically, there must be more than three months of recurring or continuous abdominal pain or discomfort that is usually relieved after a bowel action (defaecation). The pain may be mild and infrequent or so severe that there is accompanying sweating or faintness. No single symptom is unique to IBS. There may be a change in Frequency of bowel action or change in stool consistency. Abdominal bloating or distension and passing mucus on the stool are also common.

All of the symptoms of IBS can occur with other bowel diseases and disorders and it is, therefore, important that the diagnosis should be made by a doctor. Examples of chronic bowel inflammatory diseases that could cause pain include Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and diverticulitis. Tumours of the bowel become more common as we get older so that an important consideration in deciding how far to investigate the symptoms is your age.

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