Dr. Anju Goel

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common disorders of digestive system producing a spectrum of symptoms such as persistent and recurring abdominal pain associated with passing of motion, change of bowel habit (diarrhea, constipation, or alternating diarrhea and constipation), etc. without any apparent cause.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the disorder of function, which means that the bowel doesn't work, as it should. If one visualizes the bowel, it appears perfectly normal without any inflammation or other structural changes. In people with IBS, the intestines squeeze too hard or not hard enough and cause food to move too quickly or too slowly through the intestines.

What are the symptoms of IBS?

People with IBS have symptoms that can include:

1. Diarrhea (often described as violent episodes of diarrhea)
2. Constipation
3. Constipation alternating with diarrhea
4. Belly pains or cramps, usually in the lower half of the belly, that get worse after meals and feel better after a bowel movement
5. A lot of gas or bloating
6. Harder or looser stools than normal (pellets or flat ribbon stools)
7. A belly that sticks out
8. Stress can make symptoms worse.

How does homeopathy treat IBS?

IBS can have significant impact on individual's social, personal, and professional life. Homeopathy offers proven treatment for the IBS which treats the Mind and Body connections. IBS calls for the treatment which should address the emotional stress, the stress coping system and the intestinal hypersensitivity. This is what homeopathy attempts doping exactly. The scientific and documented study shows that the homeopathic treatment helps achieve:

1. Soothing of mind
2. Slowing down of negative emotions such as anxiety, sadness, frustration, hyperactivity, anger, restlessness, etc.
3. Helping body's stress coping system
4. Alleviating the abnormal hypersensitivity of the bowels
5. Relieving the symptoms of bowel hyper-motility
6. Enhancing level of joyous state of mind
7. Individualistic approach whereby every patient is treated based on one's case

Homeopathic Treatment-

The Homeopathy medicine works at the deeper level, bringing the deviations of harmony among various systems of body back to normalcy. The homeopathic medicine establishes a good communication between the brain and the gut, thus ensuring proper relay of signals. The positive outcome of this is that the motility of intestines becomes regular and rhythmic, thus relieving complaints of either diarrhea or constipation or both.

Moreover, Homeopathy improves the pain threshold of individual, thus alleviating symptoms of pain and cramps associated with IBS. Homeopathy medicines work at deeper level of an individual to root out root causes. The two factors that are triggering causes of IBS are emotional stress and exaggerated sensitivity to food items.

Homeopathy has very well perceived the influences of psyche on the physique of an individual. Homeopathy medicines positively influences the emotions and thinking of an individual so that the person can cope with stress optimistically. Homeopathy medicines have proven efficacy to manage mental stress and its offshoots like IBS. Homeopathy medicines aid in minimizing food sensitivities and allergies. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a homeopathy and ask a free question.

Now these days Laparoscopic surgery is commonly performed. Traditional surgeries / open abdominal surgeries are decreasing in number due to few inherent advantages of laparoscopic surgery over traditional / open abdominal surgeries:

• Smaller incisions: During open abdominal surgery, the usual length of incisions vary from 3 cm upto 18 cm, depending on the indication of surgery. Incisions given for laparoscopic surgery are small (usually 0.5 cm – 1.5cm).
• Lesser pain: After surgery, in post-operative period pain is minimal due to small incision size.  
• Early Recovery: Lesser pain after surgery fastens the recovery process and faster return to everyday living.  
• Lesser Pain Medication: Reduced pain after surgery amount to lesser medication for pain after surgery.
• Shorter hospital stays: Because of early ambulation and faster recovery average hospital stay remains 1 to 2 days for laparoscopic surgery (versus 5 to 7 days for open surgery).
• Lesser wound infection and hernia formation: Smaller incisions decrease the risk of wound infection and chances of hernia formation.
• Cosmetically acceptable: Smaller incisions result in less scarring and hence cosmetically acceptable scars.
• Reduced chances of Infections: There is reduced exposure of internal organs to possible external contaminants which reduces the risk of acquiring infections.
• Reduced hemorrhaging: The amount of blood loss is lesser during laparoscopic surgeries which reduces the chance of needing a blood transfusion.
• Less metabolic derangements: Medical literature supports the fact that there are lesser metabolic derangements after laparoscopic surgery compared to open abdominal surgery.
• Better postoperative pulmonary function: Pulmonary functions i.e. capacity to breath in and out is least affected after laparoscopic surgery which help in faster recovery from the procedure.

Wounds and bruises are both injuries. However, they differ widely in terms of the causing factors, the nature of the injury, the pain they cause and the kind of treatment they require.

The following are a few of the myriad ways in which the two injuries differ from each other:

1. A wound causes quick damage - the skin tissue is cut or punctured while a bruise (also called a closed wound) is where the skin is not torn.
2. A wound is usually caused by a sharp object but bruises are the results of blunt force or trauma.
3. A wound almost certainly bleeds due to ruptured tissue and blood vessels. Blunt injury also damages the blood capillaries of the skin and causes blood to accumulate under the skin tissue, creating a dark patch of skin. Blood vessels can also break due to lifting of heavy objects or overexertion of muscles.
4. A wound carries the risk of infection because the skin is open but a bruise does not get infected.
5. A wound has a burning or stinging sensation but a bruise is characterized by swelling and a blunt throbbing pain.
6. A wound can be healed by antiseptic and antibiotic medication. Large wounds need to be closed by stitching them up to avoid severe infection. On the other hand, a bruise usually heals by itself. A cold compress and pain killers may be used to ease discomfort. Heat can be applied to the injured spot to normalize the blood flow and dissolve the blood clot.
7. A wound can lead to complications like bacterial infections or the healing might be delayed by chronic diseases like diabetes. In case of a bruise, it usually does not cause complications but if there's a blunt injury to sensitive areas like the head, the tailbone or the eyes, medical attention is advised.
8. Wounds and bruises can also be differentiated on the basis of their subtypes.

The different types of wounds are:

• Incision (sharp objects cutting the dermis layer of skin)
• Abrasion (the epithelial tissue is scraped off)
• Avulsion (a body structure is torn off)
• Penetration (a sharp object causes an entry and an exit wound)
• Puncture (only an entry wound caused by a sharp object)

The different types of bruises are:

• Hematoma (blood pools under the skin)
• Purpura (tiny spots of blood on the inside of the mouth)
• Contusion (similar to hematoma and caused by external trauma)
• Crush injury (caused due to a large amount of force on the body part for a long time)

Related Tip: "4 Surgical Alternatives For Burns And Wounds"