Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
By Dr Mohammed Sarwar Khan.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a disorder affecting the intestine's ability to move its contents.  Common symptoms include abdominal pain, constipation and/or diarrhea, as well as bloating after eating.  The symptoms can occur in the waking state and are usually triggered by the ingestion (intake) of food, diet, drugs or hormones, and emotional factors such as stress. 

Allopathic medicine recognizes two types of IBS. In the "spastic colon type," bowel movements are variable.  Pain originates in the large intestine, with periodic constipation and diarrhea.  Symptoms are often triggered by eating. The key symptoms include a dull ache in the lower abdomen, which is either continuous or comes and goes in bouts.  It may be relieved by a bowel movement.

The second type of IBS includes symptoms of painless diarrhea.  It is usually urgent precipitous diarrhea that occurs immediately upon rising or during/immediately after a meal.  Incontinence may also occur.

The classical Chinese medical theory behind IBS is different from that of Allopathic medicine.  In Chinese medicine the Spleen is the organ in charge of digestion. In Allopathic medicine, the spleen has certain functions that do not necessarily agree with the Chinese concept. In general, the Chinese Spleen may be defined as both the Spleen and Pancreas.

When the Spleen is not working efficiently it may have been weakened by a number of factors.  It is like a car's engine that needs a tune-up. When the car's workings are not operating efficiently, a number of problems arise. For example the power may be reduced and there may be a build up of exhaust smoke.

Spleen deficiency causes bloating and flatulence.  It is like a car's engine pinging, knocking or backfiring.  Another key symptom is diarrhea, which is also the key symptom of IBS.  The Spleen associates with the Stomach. If there is any disharmony within the Spleen, the stomach may respond with nausea and vomiting.

When a car's engine is not tuned well, it does not burn fuel efficiently. The car produces excess exhaust fumes and subsequently an accumulation of carbon in the exhaust system. A deficient Spleen cannot metabolize the food efficiently. The Spleen creates "Dampness" in the body, the equivalent of excessive exhaust smoke in the car.  When dampness is created in the Spleen, it can rise to the head and create headaches that have a sensation of dull fullness in the head.  One begins to feel as though there is a clamp tightened around their head. Other manifestations of Damp rising to the head include a foggy inability to concentrate.  Fog is much like Damp.  Eventually damp can accumulate and become more evident in the large intestine.  Mucus is present in the stools, which is another common sign of IBS.

If the Spleen does not obtain adequate nutrition from the food, the obvious symptom would be fatigue.  When the Spleen cannot assimilate the food's nutrition, it creates a deficiency of Blood. When there is not enough Blood in the body, specifically enough to nourish the Heart, anxiety follows. A deficiency of Blood in Chinese medicine can be linked to the Allopathic diagnosis of anemia. Few symptoms differ though, especially when it comes to the Blood's function of nourishing. 

In the Chinese Medicine the Liver is the most sensitive organ to emotional stress. The Liver produces additional symptoms, which include dull pain that comes and goes along with alternating constipation and diarrhea.  In this case, emotional factors can be the cause of the IBS affecting the Liver first and then the Spleen. The stress associated with the IBS may create additional emotions affecting the Liver, which further aggravates the condition.

TREATMENT:

Treatment would depend on the underlying cause of IBS. If the Spleen alone is involved, acupuncture and herbal treatment would tonify (or strengthen) the Spleen's function to make it more efficient, clear and clean the entire digestive tract, and dry the damp within the body. If the Liver is also involved, it would have to be sedated and calmed.  Abdominal pains will be relieved and would allow for the healing of the Spleen's functions.

Although Allopathic medicine does not have a good idea as to what and how IBS occurs, Chinese medicine has a very clear and obvious explanation.  Irritable Bowel Syndrome has been treated effectively for thousands of years through acupuncture and Chinese medicine.  The CHINESE HOSPITAL offers relief for those who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The patient can rest assured that our fully trained specialists will provide the best treatment available for their condition.