Food poisoning can lead to long-term gut issues
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Post-infection irritable bowel syndrome causes recurrent abdominal pain or discomfort along with diarrhoea or constipation, or both, following an acute gut infection.
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
Alice Callahan
- Post-infection IBS causes long-lasting gut symptoms like abdominal pain and diarrhoea after intestinal infections, affecting 10 to 30 per cent of patients, with symptoms possibly lasting years.
- Gut infections may cause IBS by damaging the intestinal lining, increasing gut sensitivity, and disrupting the microbiome, but exact mechanisms remain unclear.
- No cure exists for post-infection IBS, but treatments like Imodium, peppermint oil, antibiotics and antidepressants can help manage symptoms and improve quality of life.
AI generated
NEW YORK – It has been two months since Ericka Ratliff, 55, fell ill with cyclospora, yet she is still dealing with sharp abdominal pain and sudden urges to go to the bathroom. “It’s very unpredictable,” she said, as if “my stomach is just extremely angry”.
Ratliff, who lives in Adrian, Michigan, has tried following a bland diet and eating small, frequent meals to quell her symptoms, but said she was worried that her gut would “never be the same again”.