Abstract

ROLE OF UNANI MEDICINE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME - A REVIEW

Mohammad Azam*

Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder characterized by abdominal pain or discomfort and altered bowel habits in the absence of detectable structural abnormalities. IBS is the most common condition encountered in clinical practice but one of the least well understood. Until recently many physicians did not considered IBS to be a disease at all they viewed it nothing more than a somatic manifestation of psychological stress. It is frustrating condition for the patient because of poor quality of life and equally frustrating for the physician. IBS causes a lot of mental agony to the patients as well as the physicians who face a challenge treating this disease. The exact etiology IBS is still incompletely understood but most common factors are psychological disturbances like anxiety, depression along with luminal factor such as diet and the gut microbiota thought to play a important role. The patients present with variable abdominal symptoms, but constipation, recurrent diarrhea, pain and distention of abdomen are predominant clinical features. The diagnosis is confirmed on the basis of clinical observation, otherwise most of the investigations are found in normal limit. No specific treatment is presently available in any system of Medicine. But most of the Unani physicians have recommended different single as well as compound drugs for the treatment of various functional and organic gastro intestinal tract disorders. In this review the author have tried to highlights the curative and preventive aspects of disease and formulations used in Unani system of medicine.

Keywords: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Unani system of medicine, psychological stress, microbiota.