Not every person has the ideal bowel habit which is as regular as clockwork. It is inconvenient to have to pass stool at an unexpected time, experience loose watery stool or pass very hard stool infrequently. These are signs of poor bowel habit. It is important to first see a doctor to find out if these disturbances may be due to any bowel diseases, be it acute of chronic. If there is no apparent bowel abnormality then you should look at various ways to improve your bowel habit. The reality is that good bowel habit is frequent, regular and somewhat predictable bowel movements with the passage of soft and firm stool that is easily evacuated. If your bowel habit is not as “picture perfect” as this, then consider these tips for better bowel habit.

continue reading 7 Tips For Improving Bowel Habit

Heartburn is not always taken seriously. Most of us experience it at some point or the other but 1 in 10 Americans suffer with heartburn on a daily basis. Despite its name, heartburn has nothing to do with the heart. Neither is heartburn a disease. It is actually a symptom of a disease known as GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease).

Heartburn is one of the symptoms you experience when stomach acid flows backward up into the food pipe (esophagus). In the ideal situation, this should not happen. But there are many circumstances where the mechanism that normally prevents stomach acid from flowing backwards fails to act as it should.

continue reading How To Ease Nighttime Heartburn Without Drugs

Diarrhea is one of those common symptoms that we all experience at some time or the other. Most of the time it is acute meaning that it lasts for only a short period of time before the bowel habit gradually returns to normal. No treatment is required in the majority of cases but supportive measures like adequate hydration are important. However, one of the biggest problems with getting over diarrhea is that most people rely on “old wives’ tales” about the right way to manage it rather than proper medical facts. One of the major hurdles in this regard is what to eat or not eat when you have diarrhea.

continue reading Foods and Drinks That Can Worsen Diarrhea

A gurgling sound in the abdomen is not uncommon. It is a sign of activity within the stomach and bowels that occurs throughout the day. But a gurgling abdominal sounds can also be a sign of various bowel diseases and it is therefore difficult to say what can be considered normal or abnormal. Similarly, a lack of bowel sounds can also be a cause for concern as it may be an indication of various gastrointestinal and abdominal conditions that need to be investigated.

continue reading Some Reasons for Gurgling Stomach and Bowel Sounds

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a widely known bowel condition but there is still widespread misconceptions about the condition. All too often people label chronic bowel diseases as irritable bowel syndrome without fully understanding the extent of the syndrome. However, the symptoms of IBS may be seen with a host of other bowel diseases, some of which may have life-threatening consequences if left untreated. It is therefore important to know the basic facts about IBS and clear up the confusion and misconceptions between IBS and other chronic bowel conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

continue reading 10 Facts About Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)