Head Cold and Increase in IBS Symptoms

Yep. This just happened to me last week. Just got over a head cold and the IBS - M hit. Not sure if it's coincidental, but thats how it seemed to happen last year too.

Hi ryn, i am still recovering from a chronic sinus infection. My ins has gone all wrong because of antibiotics! I am meant to go back to work tomorrow but if i can't move my head i'm not moving. Work can wait. If you're bunged up bowel wise try a softener for it, it should help? I hate getting ill i am so poorly with this.

Yup. To be blunt, I find all the snot you swallow during a cold makes my IBS worse. I also get more wind from swallowing air as I have to breathe through my mouth all the time lol

Any bug at all can make your IBS worse because it puts extra strain on your body on top of your IBS. My IBS used to feel worse during my periods because hormones can cause this. Wait your cold out and you should feel better when it goes away. Stay as calm as possible, take your antispasmodics or painkillers to ease your stomach. Remember, worrying about your symptoms will make your flare ups worse and more frequent. Keep telling yourself that IBS symptoms can change. Calmness and your IBS medications are your best tools to manage your IBS. When my IBS flares up, I take antispasmodics and painkillers and feel better because I do not worry about my symptoms. Remember, your doctor has diagnosed you with IBS and nothing else.

hi there, I've spent a good portion of my life studying how the body works, and I wish I had someone to explain this to me, so I hope this helps. The body is one big dynamical system. IBS is a systems disease, or the expression of a body which has too little resources to organize itself properly. Its predominantly about the autonomic nervous systems regulation of bodily homeostasis, so the more amped up or tense we get, the harder it can be for our body to "come down" again and relax. IBS is what happens when the persons body struggles to do that.

When we get a cold, or if we even go out into the cold, or have a hot bath, or a cold shower - any major change in homeostasis can induce a net loss of energy which can precipitate symptoms of IBS. Colds especially, since they demand resources from the immune system, such as circulating acetylcholine, yet the same molecule is needed for proper gut contraction. So if you body is busy fighting off a cold, the functioning of your gut is temporarily reduced. When this happens, we got to be stoic and patient with ourselves and our bodies. The body is really trying to do the best it can, so we should show lots of compassion for it.

Once the cold passes, the body should gain its stability back. But keep eating healthy and well, and learn new techniques to lower your stress levels, such as yoga, mindfulness meditation, slow walking, and just simply sitting and being. IBS tends to express a yin deficiency in the body. the body is tired, and needs and a good amount of time and energy to be straight right again.