Although Irritable bowel syndrome is much more common in adults over the age of 20, it is a condition that affects children as well.

Ibs children do tend to have milder symptoms than an adult that suffers with irritable bowel syndrome. It is therefore important if you think that your child may be suffering with irritable bowel syndrome, that you have him or her checked by your doctor.  This is best done as soon as your child starts to show ibs symptoms, as many other potentially serious illnesses can show similar symptoms and the physician will want to confirm the diagnosis. The two main IBS symptoms in children are diarrhea and constipation, or sometimes a combination of both, together with cramp like pains in the abdomen.

Should your child be suffering with diarrhea (a sudden and uncontrollable urge to pass stools which are often fluid-like), you need to pay particular attention to the amount of fluids they consume as dehydration is a very real problem. It is essential that a child that has these symptoms is encouraged to drink water or non sugary drinks throughout the day.

If however, your child is suffering with constipation (when passing stools becomes difficult due to the hardness of the stool), then the best treatment is to add extra fibre to the diet your child follows. If this is one of the symptoms of your ibs children, then make sure you are aware of if he skips a bowel movement for a day or two, as he or she won’t always want to tell you!

Having a child with ibs does not pose a direct threat to their health as it is a chronic condition. However, you do need to seek guidance to get any diagnosis confirmed, and once this has been done you can both learn to adjust to the fact that the ibs exists.