Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a gastrointestinal disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. It can vary from mild to severe and has no definitive cause.

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In some people, IBS symptoms appear to be triggered by certain food or drink. Avoiding known ‘trigger’ foods is a common way of reducing flare-ups. There has been some success with the use of FODMAP diets in treating IBS, with UK research showing the FODMAP diet to be more effective for three out of four IBS sufferers than the standard NICE approved IBS diet.

Common treatments for IBS include dietary changes, medicines, psychological treatments, taking probiotic supplements, using complementary and herbal medicines, and increasing the amount of exercise taken.

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Health-related mobile phone apps are becoming increasingly popular as a means of tackling various conditions, including IBS. The top apps for IBS include:

Bowelle

Bowelle is an iOS exclusive app that enables sufferers to keep track of bowel movements, diet, mood, and stress levels.

Gi BodyGuard

Gi BodyGuard is another app for IBS sufferers to track their bowel habits, exercise, symptoms, medications, diet and weight. Developed by the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation, this app is available for both Android and iOS and is free, thanks to internal adverts.

The FODMAP by FM app

The FODMAP by FM app is a joint venture between King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust, and it’s available for iPhones and Android devices. It contains a huge database of over 100,000 items that are available in leading UK supermarkets, and 30,000 ingredients. The app is aimed at helping adults with IBS follow a FODMAP diet, using a three-stage process.

Sounds Like IBS

This app is unique, in that it offers clinical hypnotherapy as an alternative treatment for IBS sufferers. Available from the Apple Store, this app costs $9.99, is now available in 48 countries, and is an interesting new way of tackling IBS using a psychological approach.