(IBS) Spastic Colon Symptoms in Women and Men

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1. If the spastic colon symptoms get worse and begin to significantly affect your activities and disturb your sleep cycle.
2. If the symptoms don’t improve with your home remedies.
3. If you have high fever without known reason.
4. If you experience anemia.
5. If you get unusual weight loss ‘with unknown reason’.
6. If you have loss of appetite – if left untreated, it can lead to malnutrition.
7. If you have abdominal discomfort or pain that is not related with changes in your bowel function or when it doesn’t improve with bowel movements.
8. Abdominal pain in specific area of the abdomen also should be concerned, because it may point to other health problems.

Unfortunately, the exact cause of this kind of digestive problem is not known yet. There are some theories, but no one of them that has been clearly confirmed.

1. The miscommunication between the brain and the intestine. Brain sends signals to control the mechanisms and movements of intestines. In people with IBS, the brain may send the wrong signal, as a result the intestine works improperly.
2. The problems of gastrointestinal motor itself. If the GI motor doesn’t work as well as it should be, this may lead to fast or slow motility. While fast motility is the responsible of diarrhea, slow motility causes constipation.
3. Hypersensitivity in stretching the bowel movement. Some experts believe that people with spastic colon are more likely to have lower threshold in stretching their bowel.
4. Bacterial gastroenteritis.
5. The overgrowth of certain bacteria in the gut.
6. The level of food sensitivity. Many patients report that the symptoms flare up after eating certain foods. Read also about foods to avoid with irritable bowel syndrome!
7. Genetics! Although this theory is still debatable, but a family history of IBS is one of risk factors.

In people with the condition, uncontrolled stress may have a contribution to stimulate colon spasms, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse.

The colon itself is equipped with many nerves that link to the brain. The brain can send signal through these nerves to control the colon contraction.

During stressful periods, these nerves are probably also affected. This may cause more contractions, resulting in abdominal discomforts.