Patient Teaching Information handout - Essay Example

The changes that affect bowel movement result in discomfort and other abnormalities that are identified as symptoms. These also offer a basis for understanding IBS and its diagnosis. According to Anderson, Keller, Pehl, Schemann, Preiss, and Layer, existence of three conditions defines the disorder and guides its diagnosis. The authors explain that existence of IBS is a consequence of three factors. The patient must have reported chronic symptoms that a physician associates with the gut and that result in abnormal bowel characteristics.

The symptoms must further be significant to compel a patient to seek medical attention or to cause the patient to worry and must have adverse effects on the patient’s quality of life. Further, it must be established that the reported symptoms are not associated with any other health complication. The authors identifies “diarrhea,” “constipation,” “pain,” “bloating, and distension,” as the major symptoms towards diagnosis, though many other complications may initiate the symptoms (Anderson, et. Al., 2011, p. 755). A consideration of abdominal pain that ceases upon defecation or changes with bowel movements together with at least any two of the following symptoms further supports existence of irritable bowel syndrome.

The symptoms are changes in tool passage, “abdominal bloating,” deterioration of symptoms after meals, and “passage of mucus” (National Institute for Health and Clinical Experience, 2008, p. 12). Existence of these basic symptoms strongly suggests presence of the bowel disorder and tests are likely to confirm diagnosis. Reliance of the symptoms alone is enhanced by evaluation of “red flags,” a term that refers to those factors that indicate existence of a secondary complication to Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Unexplained loss of weight that exceeds seven pounds, problems with swallowing, blood spots in the stool, abnormal stool that may be “pale, very smelly, and difficult to flush away” are of the symptoms that may indicate existence of secondary complications (Talley, 2006, p. 26). Other indicators of secondary complications are “repeated vomiting, fever,” late onset of the symptoms and require tests for accurate diagnosis of IBS (Talley, 2006, p. 26). Genetic susceptibility to cancer, disturbed sleep because of symptoms and severe diarrhea are other indicators of secondary complications (Talley, 2006).

The red flags could results from such complications as “chronic infectious enterocotilis,” “Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease,” “gastrointestinal tumors, mesenteric ischemia, porphyria, endometriosis, and ovarian tumor” (Anderson, et. al., 2011, p. 753, 754). Clinical tests such as full blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, c-reactive protein and antibody testing for celiac disease are conducted to eliminate possibility of these complications (National Institute for Health and Clinical Experience, 2008, p. 11). Is the tests are negative for their respective complications then this confirms diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in a patient.

There is no cure for the disorder but treatment strategies exist for managing the symptoms. Eating behavior is one of the treatment methods and involves application