English for PTA

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Abbildung © Doris Heinrichs / www.fotolia.com © Doris Heinrichs / www.fotolia.com

IBS is one of the most common disorders in industrialized countries. Also known as colon irritable, the disorder is usually characterized by cramping, stomach pain, flatulence, constipation and diarrhoea.

It isn’t exactly known what causes IBS. The intestinal walls are lined with muscles that rhythmically contract and relax and move food through the intestinal tract. In some cases of IBS these contractions may be stronger, last longer than usual and force the food too quickly through the intestinal tract causing bloating and diarrhoea. In other cases the opposite occurs, i.e. the contractions are slower than normal and result in constipation.

The triggers are as varied as the patient suffering from IBS. They range from certain types of food, to stress, hormones and gastroenteritis. Certain things or situations may cause the stomach to react abnormally, and make the patient more sensitive, that is react abnormally to that normal „full“ feeling after eating. Some sufferers, for instance, experience a worsening of symptoms when they eat certain foods, such as chocolate and dairy products. Others have problems with carbonated drinks and alcohol.

Pharmacy customer (a woman of about 30 years of age): Hello, I wonder if you could help me.
PTA: Hello, I’ll try my best!

How do I explain it? You see I have been having problems on and off now for a few months with diarrhoea and constipation. I went to my doctor and he couldn’t find anything wrong with me, at least nothing serious. He has given me a referral form for colonoscopy just to be sure that it’s nothing serious, but he believes that I have irritable bowel syndrome. It’s terrible. I’m scheduled to go to a seminar next week and I’m afraid that I’m going to spend the whole time running to the ladies room. I’m even thinking of cancelling.
I understand. Yes, that is uncomfortable. How may I help you?

I was hoping that you could give me some OTCs to deal with the symptoms. You know for diarrhoea or if I get constipated.
Before I give you anything, do you mind if I ask you, if you have been under a lot of pressure over the last months? Or are you having more stress than usual?

Yes, certainly. Why?
You see, I had colon irritable myself and it started to rule my life. I stopped going on longer trips in the car, and if I went anywhere, I made sure that there were several possibilities of stopping „just-in-case“.

Oh, I’ve already started doing that!
That’s what I thought.

How did you get rid of your IBS?
I started noticing which foods caused my symptomsto return or worsen. What finally helped was to consciously relax and do regular relaxing exercises.

Why did you start noticing your food especially? Did you discover that you had a food allergy?
No, but some symptoms of IBS are triggered by intolerance to dairy products. Other people have problems with brassicaceae, which are plants such as cabbages, radishes, turnips, kohlrabi and mustard. Pulses such as beans, peas and lentils or any food that causes bloating should be avoided. I can recommend this herbal preparation, which helps when you have stomach cramps, and loperamide hydrochloride for diarrhoea.

Thank you!
Not at all! You’re welcome.

VOCABULARY
stomach Magen
flatulence Flatulenz, Blähungen
constipation Obstipation, Verstopfung
intestinal walls Darmwände
contract anspannen, zusammenziehen
relax entspannen
intestinal tract Darm, Verdauungstrakt
triggers Auslöser
gastroenteritis Magen-Darm-Grippe
sufferers Leidtragende
worsening Verschlechterung
dairy products Milchprodukte
carbonated drinks kohlensäurehaltige Getränke
referral form ärztliche Überweisung
colonoscopy Koloskopie, Darmspiegelung
ladies room Damentoilette
just-in-case vorsichtshalber
consciously bewusst
brassicaceae Kohlgewächse
cabbages Kohl
radishes Radieschen
turnips Steckrüben
mustard Senf
beans Bohnen
peas Erbsen
lentils Linsen