Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a group of symptoms that affect your digestive system. It’s a common but uncomfortable gastrointestinal disease, or condition that affects your intestines.

People with IBS experience symptoms that include abdominal pain and cramps. With IBS, you may also have frequent diarrhea, constipation or both. IBS doesn’t cause tissue damage in your GI (gastrointestinal) tract or increase your risk of more serious conditions, like colon cancer. Instead, it’s a chronic (long-term) condition that most people can manage by changing their routines and what they eat, taking medications and receiving behavioral therapy.

What are the types of IBS?

Researchers categorize IBS based on how your stools (poop) look on the days when you’re having symptom flare-ups. Most people with IBS have normal bowel movements on some days and abnormal ones on others. The abnormal days define the kind of IBS you have.

• IBS with constipation (IBS-C): Most of your poop is hard and lumpy.
• IBS with diarrhea (IBS-D): Most of your poop is loose and watery.
• IBS with mixed bowel habits (IBS-M): You have both hard and lumpy bowel movements and loose and watery movements.

The differences are important. Certain treatments only work for specific types of IBS.

How common is IBS?

It’s very common. Experts estimate that about 10% to 15% of adults in the United States have IBS. Only about 5% to 7% see a provider and receive a diagnosis.

It’s the most common disease that gastroenterologists (experts in GI diseases) diagnose.