Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Well, parasites could lead to the development of IBS, but they're two different things...

Any serious "insult to the gut" can damage - permanently - the way the enteric nervous system of the gut functions. Basically, a malfunctioning enteric nervous system is IBS. So, if you get food poisoning, or have abdominal surgery, or get intestinal parasites, you may well recover from the initial "insult", and have no visible physical damage to your gut...but you're left with IBS. At that point, treating the original cause of the insult won't make a difference, because that original problem (infection, parasite, tissue trauma) has healed, and it's just your gut's nervous system that remains damaged.

There's more about this in the First Year IBS, and there's full diagnostic info in the IBS Glossary (check the footer link at the bottom of this page to reach the glossary).

You should have the necessary stool tests to rule out parasites before you're given a diagnosis of IBS. A good GI doc would know exactly what's required for this.

- H

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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!

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