Peppermint oil can help with irritable bowel syndrome

Peppermint oil can relieve irritable bowel discomfort.

(14.06.2010) About 30 percent of all Germans suffer from irritable bowel syndrome. Medications or diets have not provided relief for most patients in the past. The Schwetzingen gastrologist Prof. dr. In an interview with Aachener Zeitung, Birgit Kallinowski points out from her own practical experience that remedies from natural medicine have proven to be helpful in irritable bowel syndrome. "In about half of the patients, experience has shown that high-dose peppermint oil relieves the symptoms", says gastrologist. Peppermint oil can be purchased in pharmacies without a prescription. A previous agreement with the doctor treated, however, makes sense. If the previously effective peppermint oil has no effect, the doctor advises to anticonvulsants, psyllium or heat pads for the stomach.

As Kallinowski further reports, the causes of irritable bowel syndrome are hitherto scientifically unclear. But from their experience, it can be seen that an irritable bowel has nothing to do with nutrition. Diets and dietary changes have so far had little or no effect. Rather, one can assume that stress, worry and anger can increase the syndrome. In such cases, the doctor advises her patient to perform relaxation exercises, behavioral therapy or autogenic training. Conventional medical indicators such as inflammation are not present in irritable bowel syndrome, but may appear after a while as a result. So the doctor said: "The irritable bowel is not a disease, so no inflammation, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.The often associated cancer anxiety of many patients is unfounded, because an irritable bowel syndrome is not associated with a tumor."

According to Prof. Dr. med. Birgit Kallinowski affects about 30 percent of all Germans with irritable bowel syndrome (irritable bowel syndrome). The symptoms are mostly pain and cramps in the abdominal area, which often relieve after bowel movements. There are also abdominal pain, pressure, bloating and diarrhea. Many patients also report anxiety, fatigue, and depression. (Sb)

Picture credits: Stephanie Hofschlaeger, Pixelio.de.