IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) vs. IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease)

submitted by Denise Sharp

IBS and IBD are two totally different conditions and they should never be put in the same category as one. I have now had 4 dogs that have had IBD and have spent quite a bit of time, and money treating and researching the why's and wherefores of this. In response to ***** on how can you tell the difference, I hope this is helpful.

To start with, Irritable Bowel SYNDROME means a group of symptoms. IBS is a syndrome because it can cause several symptoms. For example, IBS causes cramping, bloating, gas, diarrhea, and constipation. IBS is not a disease. It's a functional disorder, which means that the bowel doesn't work as it should.

With IBS, the nerves and muscles in the bowel are extra-sensitive. For example, the muscles may contract too much when you eat. These contractions can cause cramping and diarrhea during or shortly after a meal. Or the nerves can be overly sensitive to the stretching of the bowel (because of gas, for example). It can be painful but it does not damage the bowel or cause other disease.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease on the other hand is a severe debilitating disease that if not managed correctly can result is serious health issues including death. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) usually refers to a chronic inflammatory disease anywhere in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, including the stomach, small intestine (duodenum, jejunum, ileum), and large intestine (colon) Because IBD affects many areas of the GI tract it probably has many different causes.

The disease is classified by the predominant inflammatory cell found invading the wall of the bowel and endoscopic examination or surgical biopsy is the only way to determine the type of inflammatory cells.

The most common form of IBD is lymphocytic-plasmacytic IBD (LPIBD). Biopsies are important to rule out other causes such as: dietary hypersensitivity, lymphoma, histoplasmosis (a fungus), bacterial infection or overgrowth, and malassimilation problems. The predominant cell type, lymphocytes and plasma cells represent a chronic stimulation of the immune system.

Because of this response, IBD is typically thought of as an immune mediated disease. Signs of IBD are dependent on the location of the problem. Disease in the stomach or upper small intestine are frequently associated with chronic vomiting and weight loss. Diseases of the duodenum, ileum, and colon are associated with chronic diarrhea, weight loss and infrequent vomiting. Small bowel diarrhea is often watery with a large volume of faeces and the patient acts sick. Large bowel diarrhea is associated with straining, some blood, mucus, small volume of faeces and frequent attempts to defecate.

Once IBD is suspected, strict dietary changes are essential for long term results. Often diet will control the disease but in the majority of cases anti-inflammatory drugs are added to quiet the immune system. Often, the use of anti-inflammatory drugs at the beginning is enough with controlled diet to stabilize the chronic inflammation. However, the disease in most cases goes into periods of remission with repeated flare ups. It is manageable but unfortunately not curable.