What factors contribute to the onset of IBS?
Many patients with IBS report that their symptoms began during periods of major life stressors such as a divorce, death of a loved one, or school exams. Many patients also report the onset of symptoms during or shortly after recovering from a gastrointestinal infection or abdominal surgeries. Symptoms of IBS have also been known to appear upon the ingestion of a certain food to which the individual is sensitive. The type of food which causes symptoms varies with the individual. (There is no one definite universal food trigger for IBS.) Similarly, a flare of symptoms in a patient with long-standing IBS may be triggered by all of the symptoms listed above, or for no apparent reason.
