Overactive Bowel : What are the Causes and Symptoms?

Toilet habits differ from person to person depending on the lifestyle of the person. The functions of the digestive system work in harmony with the other organs of the body, so dysfunction of one of these takes a toll on others, with one of the most common dysfunctions of the digestive system being overactive bowel. It affects men and women in equal proportions and is estimated to affect around 15 percent of the population in the UK. This condition is also known as faecal incontinence, wherein the person cannot control the passage of stool for different reasons.

What Causes an Overactive Bowel?

Studies have shown that the nerves serving the GI tract play a big role in making the bowel act the way it does. Certain stimuli trigger painful bowel contractions that cause the GI tract to expel anything out, often with urgency and without enough warning. 

Commonly known factors that cause overactive bowel syndrome include:

  • Crohn’s disease
  • Stress and anxiety
  • Lactose intolerance
  • A reaction to antibiotics
  • Intestinal bacteria

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What are the symptoms of an overactive bowel?

 

Common symptoms of an overactive bowel include:

  • Colicky pain that comes and goes especially after eating fatty or spicy foods
  • Flatulence
  • Gut spasm that accompanies high-speed peristalsis often felt on the left side of the abdomen (abdominal cramps)
  • Burping
  • Bloated feeling
  • Abdominal discomfort
  • Faecal incontinence (diarrhoea or constipation)
  • Acid reflux (regurgitation)

Any of the above-mentioned diseases cause the aforementioned symptoms, so exact diagnosis may be difficult to establish. It is important to get a professional advice from a reliable health care provider (GP or a gastroenterologist) and careful evaluation of the symptoms to determine the cause before recommending appropriate treatment. 

Can Overactive Bowel Syndrome be Treated?

Despite the numerous studies conducted in the past, there is no known cure for an overactive bowel. It is not advisable to self-medicate, although over-the-counter drugs are available in pharmacies that you can purchase with or without a doctor’s prescription.

It is useful to try some of following treatment methods to reduce the symptoms of OAB:

1. Exercise regularly

Although an excessive strenuous activity may cause diarrhoea, moderate physical activity regulates normal bowel habits and reduces overactive bowel symptoms. Consider going running frequently or doing exercise such as swimming or gentle sport.

2. Manage stress levels

As symptoms of an overactive bowel can be worsened through stress and anxiety, making changes in your life to reduce emotional upset may help. Self-hypnosis and other psychological therapy may help relieve stress and treat anxiety and depression caused by having an overactive bowel.

3. Consider dietary changes

National guidelines for nutrition and overactive bowel syndrome include the following tips:

  • Drink at least eight cups of fluid per day, especially water or other non-caffeinated drinks. This helps to keep the stools (faeces) soft and easy to pass along the gut.
  • Consider limiting intake of high-fibre food. Foods in this category include beans, brown or wholegrain rice and bran based cereal.
  • Limit fresh fruit to three portions (of 80 g each) per day.
  • Avoid sorbitol, an artificial sweetener found in sugar-free sweets (including chewing gum) and in drinks, and in some diabetic and slimming products.

As a last resort, you can purchase over-the-counter drugs with or without a doctor’s prescription such as:

  • Antacids to relieve acid reflux
  • Anti-spasmodic drugs to relax the bowel contractions and relieve pain
  • Anti-depressants to relax the body and mind and relieve stress (It is advisable to use anti-depressants with caution since these drugs are habit-forming and may cause dependence)
  • Laxatives to help with constipation (Laxatives and anti-motility drugs do have adverse side effects and are not advisable for long-term therapy)
  • Anti-motility drugs (Loperamides) for diarrhoea
  • Probiotic agents that replace the good bacteria in the gut killed by some antibiotics

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Originally posted 2018-02-06 14:17:05.

3 Comments

  1. Wendy-Lee Walker-Blake Reply

    I have suffered from over active bowels for more than 5 years, I have been on fodmap diets and I am lactose intolerant. When I do have a semi hard bowel movement it is ribbon like, but that doesn’t happen that often. I have also been diagnosed with over active bladder, sleep apnea, ibs, degenerative disc in my neck and fibromyalgia. I have also been diagnosed with a wheat/gluten intolerance, but I also suffer reactions to both cornflakes and fibre gel doesn’t seem to help. My stools are orange in colour and I am thinking it may be due to lack of acid in my tummy.

  2. Kate Holman Reply

    I was diagnosed and treated for ibs by one doctor for 15 years with very similar symptoms to yours. I then changed Drs and after blood tests was told I was gluten/wheat intolerant and that I should go on a gluten-free diet for the rest of my life, which I did and have now had over 10 years free from these symptoms. Later I also chose to be lactose free, which is easy for milk but not as easy for cheese.

    If you are going gluten-free there is no point in doing it half-heartedly – you need to buy all bread, cakes, biscuits, flour, etc. that are marked “gluten free”. Corn flakes can contain gluten unless they are sold as “gluten free: For other foods you need to read all the ingredients thoroughly and the “allergy” warnings, e.g. soups mostly contain gluten and vegemite does. You should know that rye and barley are also gluten grains. G.F. foods are more expensive but of course all fresh fruit, veg. meat, fish, eggs etc are gluten-free. If you are serious about it, eventually your whole pantry and fridge will be gluten free and then you won’t need to worry and buying gluten-free will be second nature.

    I am now over 70 and have developed other health problems but, it is my own personal opinion, that these problems that have developed later in life may very well be due to all those years when my gut was suffering from the intake of gluten. So if you are intolerant of gluten, you need to deal with it thoroughly for the benefit of your long-term general health.

  3. Carol Reply

    Ive had so many years of this, not everyday loads of stuff trigger it.
    Acid foods beef didnt digest good for me due to it create vitamin deficiency
    i tried some beetroot not in vinegar fresh dark greens but even too many start it.
    Ive a pal same shes diverticulitis i now feel i have. Some days ive improved lots
    i am Gluten free totally only bit milk if nothing else in a cafe in coffee.
    Had to reduce coffee also only bit muscovado sugar raw no processed foods
    only white rice. So hard skins on grapes peas are problem excess fat also
    very hard days lots of days would love to improve as my best pal died of colon cancer.
    Thanks for sharing hope this helps some people

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