Do placebos help with irritable bowel syndrome?
Irritable bowel syndrome is a chronic gastrointestinal condition that can cause symptoms like stomach pain, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation. It is often a lifelong problem that makes it a frustrating ailment to live with. Who wants to feel that way when there is so much deliciousness in the world? There is no doubt that for a food lover and someone who has the god gifted sense of appreciating the GOOD stuff in life- food, genuinely hates to be put in this condition. Ask a food lover and you will know! You will get to know their struggles to put up with this condition and how nothing seems to work. Do the aisles of medicines at the drug store have secret medicines? Do placebos help with irritable bowel syndrome? Let's read further to find out.
How placebo can help
As a child, you might recall a memory where your mother or grandmother used a home remedy to alleviate your stomach pain or to make you feel better. When delivered with a soothing hand, warm smile, and a kiss on the cheek- it was an instant success. Perhaps you were given a warm cup of milk to help you fall asleep and it happened to do the deed. Unknowingly, she was actually harnessing the placebo effect in you. This effect is generally described as a positive response to a medical intervention that has no physiological effect on its own. Although today, as an adult you might know that that little remedy of your granny’s actually has no scientific proof hey- it still makes you feel good? This is the infamous placebo effect and honestly, it is a blessing to be able to control your body healing through your mind.
One of the ways placebos have been proven to be effective today is in the use of different medical conditions like pain management, stress, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, and Parkinson’s disease. There are countless studies on the positive effects of placebos on people with these conditions.
Placebos And Irritable Bowel Syndrome
So imagine for a minute, you are struggling with Irritable bowel syndrome and after months of contemplating you end up at the doctor’s office only to be given a placebo tablet, l which leaves you wondering will this work? It doesn’t seem like it but according to more than one study, it actually will.
Anthony Lembo, Harvard Medical School associate professor of medicine studied the use of placebos on patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Just like you, he also thought that it might not work. 80 patients of IBS were split into two groups. One group was informed and given placebos while the other was given nothing. The first group was even made clear that the placebo treatment they were getting consisted of no active ingredient but was completely made of inert substances. Placebo was even printed on the bottle given to them to take. After three weeks of experimenting, it was revealed that the placebo group reported significant relief in symptoms. It was actually double the rate of the group that receives no treatment. It is also noteworthy that the results were as good as the leading IBS drugs available in the market and generally prescribed by doctors.
This can prove to be groundbreaking research for IBS doctors and patients. What better treatment could be there then something that is inert, has no chemical value but can ease the annoyance caused by irritable bowel syndrome? The best thing about placebo treatment is that it is actually a lot cheaper than other treatments. Easy on the body, effective when dealing with IBS- placebos are surely the lifesaver for many.