Q: I am a 37 years old man having symptoms of inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS), which another doctor stated to be chronic amoebiasis and no medication helped me. I pass semi-solid stools with mucous. Also, I have small pimples over my face, back and arms, is this related to IBS? I have a bloated stomach and pain at times; it gets heated up and passing of stools becomes very difficult. After passing stools in the morning, there is a kind of pain in the abdomen, which gets relieved on passing stools for a 2nd, 3rd or 4th time. I drink tea and smoke a lot too, I have stopped drinking alcohol and my water consumption is also less. Are these symptoms of chronic amoebia?

A:IBS can have a multitude of symptoms from diarrhoea to constipation with and/or without pain but any rectal bleeding would need investigations. For want of a better terminology all these bowel symptoms are grouped as IBS. It can be associated with all kinds of abdominal symptoms and can also make a person depressed. In several instances IBS follows a bowel infection like infective diarrhoeas, amoebic and bacterial dysenteries, and the condition in ladies can be associated with menstrual disorders as well as in several instances after hysterectomy and other pelvic surgeries. The diagnosis is by exclusion, meaning thereby that it is important to eliminate bowel pathology by screening tests like colonoscopy, stool examination and relevant blood tests. You need to consult a gastroenterologist for screening tests.