Heidi Fawkes
Homeopath
Glebe Cottage, Leyburn Road, Hunton DL8 1QL
Tel 01677 450162
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Patient who are diagnosed with Irritable Bowel syndrome (IBS) complain of a variety of symptoms
which can be frustrating and distressing. These symptoms can include any of the following;
 Abdominal pain
 Variable bowel habit (constipation/diarrhoea)
 Abdominal bloating
 Pain when passing stool, which can continue for a time afterwards
 Excess mucus in stool
 Sensation of incomplete evacuation
Patients are generally put onto medication to relieve symptoms and advised to change their diets to
include more fibre, but for a lot of sufferers this course of action is ineffective.
So what are the causes of IBS?
Anything which depresses the immune system, the body’s defences against disease and foreign
proteins, or anything which disturbs the balance of the gut flora allowing the ‘bad’ bacteria to take
over and cause IBS;
 When we are physically low;
After infections, surgery, childbirth, living with chronic physical pain and during hormonal
upsets.
 When we are emotionally low;
Coping with life situations such as illness, bereavement, overwork and relationship difficulties
 When we have an overgrowth of Candida Albicans (Thrush) in our gut;
Often characterised by craving for sweet foods
 When we have food intolerances or allergies;
Specific foods may exacerbate symptoms
 Prescribed drugs;
Antacids, antibiotics, beta blockers and narcotics all have adverse effects on the gut and can
trigger IBS symptoms
 Fat and dietary fibre;
Fat can trigger symptoms as the fatty acids in fat stimulate the enzymes responsible for
colonic motor activity, whilst lack of dietary fibre can lead to either slow or fast gut transit
time.
What can I do to help the symptoms?
Flatulence;
Mild symptoms can be relieved with fennel or peppermint tea, half a teaspoon of bicarbonate
of soda in a glass of warm water or a teaspoon of ginger in warm water. Fennel or caraway
seeds after meals help prevent wind and charcoal biscuits (available from Pharmacies) are an
old-fashioned remedy for wind.
Onions, garlic, leeks and lentils often CAUSE more wind and should be avoided but if you are
constipated they can be eaten to break up the stubborn wind and get things moving!
More severe symptoms can be helped by the application of hot water bottle or compress on
the abdomen whilst lying down with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. You can try
massaging olive oil from right groin up and across the navel then down the left side for 10
minutes, or try rubbing the abdomen with a LIGHT touch in a clockwise circle- it is surprising
how much wind this can release.
Constipation/diarrhoea
Can be caused by emotional causes as well as diet.
Diet; there are several books in print with dietary advice and you need to find one that suits
you. However, cleaning up your diet generally involves eating less refined flours, sugar, cakes,
biscuits, refined cereals and fatty foods, and eating more vegetables both raw and cooked,
fruit which is stewed or dried, whole grains, pulses, seeds and nuts. This give the opportunity
for the bowel to ‘detox’ and the vegetables, fruit etc act as a gentle scouring pad as they go
through the gut.
Emotional;
Nervous diarrhoea; is caused by the nerves in the bowel getting incorrect messages. When
the ‘red alert’ button is pressed the sympathetic nervous system goes into action suspending
activity in the bowel. If the message carries on and becomes ‘Im very scared’ instead of ‘I
need to act’, so much adrenalin is poured into the system that the bowel opens. The body is so
hyped up that the bowel cannot relax, even during sleep and people find themselves rushing
for the toilet each morning.
So, if your bowel is responding as if you were running away from a charging bull all the time,
then only you can do something about it. The behaviour of your boss, your spouse or worry over
money or a long term stressful situation can affect your nervous system only if you allow it to.
You need to change your reaction to the stress and look after your body in order for normal
functioning to occur.
Will I make it in time? If your diarrhoea is so bad that you are afraid to go out of the house,
or need to plan a route involving locations where toilets are available you are on a treadmill of
FEAR. If you constantly send fearful messages to the gut then the diarrhoea will continue.
Nervous constipation; Healthy people are able to use their minds and bodies to full capacity
and then when they are ready to relax they just switch off. The relaxation response in people
who are tense and nervously exhausted fails because it has been overworked. Constant
overwork and stressful situations cause muscular tension including in the gut so the muscles
fail to push the digested food along the colon and blockage occurs.
I’m still not getting better- some things to think about;
Rushing around; some people after making basic changes, start to feel better than they have
in years, then, they forget; get absorbed in work again, forego exercise and fresh air, neglect
their diet and wonder why they feel ill again. If the system is strained it complains- so listen
to it and make the changes for life.
Mistaking hyperactivity for being well; some hyperactive people mistakenly feel they are well,
because in spite of getting very little sleep they have boundless energy. Activity can only be
said to be healthy when your muscles respond with fatigue, and recover with rest. In the short
term the hyperactive person does not feel the need for rest, but the body will eventually
respond with exhaustion and frayed nerves.
Lack of exercise; are you holding yourself back, tense, because you are too afraid to really
move? Your gut problems, anxiety, depression and aching muscles will not go until you take this
possibility seriously. Build up an exercise programme gradually until you are doing tiring
exercises three times a week.
Hanging onto your anxiety/depression; the responsibility for your emotional state is yours.
Outside factors may make life very hard for you, but what actually goes on in your body is
determined by YOU, if you respond to life with tension this causes anxiety, which in turn
causes depression. This in not being done to you, you are doing it and it is a habit that needs
determination to break. When you feel ill you need understanding and support, but it is up to
you to take responsibility and train yourself to live without tension.
Refusal to look at the psychological side; being physically low acts as a catalyst, all the stored
rubbish from the unconscious is unearthed because the person is too weak to hold it in. This
does not happen to everyone, because some people are able to express their emotions as they
experience them. While many recover as soon as the physical cause of their discomfort is
eased, there are others who don’t. Often these are people who refuse to acknowledge there
could be an emotional cause- anger, guilt, frustration and failure to forgive will keep you firmly
on the tension-anxiety-depression cycle.
Homeopathy
 Looks at the whole person, mind and emotions as well as physical symptoms. Often it is the emotional
state which brings on the physical symptom.
 Helps your body balance and heal itself
 Treats the underlying causes of illness, not just the symptoms and so can reduce the risk of symptoms
returning.
For advice, information about IBS or to make an appointment please contact me on 01677 450162.