# How would you explain Irritable Bowel Syndrome to kids?



## AdamMieses (Oct 1, 2017)

Last night me, my siblings and my aunt got together and talked to her children our cousins. They had questions regarding the incident with me, her and her husband and they over heard us talking about her condition and they over heard the letters(a boy who is 7 and a girl who is 5) I.B.S.. I was originally nervous about this talk since I have seen my aunt get frustrated to the point of sobbing in tears but she was very open and calm which made us glad. She went to explain that when she is scared, angry, stressed and anxious she has to go the potty ASAP. I helped to explain the brain gut axis and how they are conncected. When they asked about foods she told them that she cant have spicy foods, soft drinks(except ginger ale which is very helpful to her) because they make her go to the potty to. We then went on to the positive things that IBS may be hard but its not the end of the world you can treat it with, diet changes, life style changes, great meds to help control like for example diarrhea and counseling can help. At the end of it we just hugged and continued on with our night. My aunts been suffering this $h!T(no pun intended) for 20 years she is no stranger to it. Now that they are able to understand her condition it will be a lot easier not only for them and but her to. But what I came here to ask is if you were in the same situation how would you tell kids that really dont know better and are curious to know?


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## Mark Danielson (Nov 25, 2017)

I would tell them the truth and nothing but the truth. Your cousins are at an age where they really don’t know better. Awesome you gathered around and talked about it I wish my family would have done that with me. I feel for your aunt as I suffer from IBS D too. Take care and never stop supporting her it really helps.


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